Didier Deschamps couldn't help but bow to the ground as Kylian Mbappé was substituted off in the 85th minute of France's dominant 3-0 win over Sweden on Monday evening at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
The hail from Deschamps came after Mbappé scored his sixth goal at this World Cup and his 17th and 18th career goals at the tournament, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup knockout matches with 10 goals.
It was another one-sided win for France, becoming the first side to score three goals in five straight World Cup games. Les Bleus will next play Paraguay in the Round of 16 in Philadelphia on Saturday.
"Even though I know the stats — everybody talks about them — because I watch TV too, I'm just thinking about how I can help my team be here on July 19 in the final," Mbappé said. "It's an important moment. I've always said that my goal is to make history in my country; I've done it once before, I was close to doing it in Qatar, and now there's a new opportunity." He's not lying when he says he knows the stats, either, as evidenced by Mbappé correcting a reporter who said he had 17 career World Cup goals.
1️⃣8️⃣ Goals!
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 30, 2026
Kylian Mbappe knows exactly how many #WorldCup goals he has ✅ pic.twitter.com/cTdQwFSYUR
Mbappé is still one shy of Lionel Messi's tournament-leading 19 career World Cup goals, but it's inevitable that the 27-year-old will surpass him eventually.
"I'm convinced that Leo (Messi) will score even more, so I don't focus too much on that," Mbappé said. "I focus more on the opponents we might face and how close we are to our goal, which is the final."
France's opening goal against Sweden came off a corner kick played short to Ousmane Dembélé, who played it to Mbappé. He dribbled past two defenders and hit it on his right foot into the back of the net. Immediately after, Mbappé and the entire French team ran over to hug Deschamps, who lost his mother last week.
"The whole team was there for him," he said. "There are things that matter more than the World Cup and more than soccer. But like I said, it's in this group's DNA to stick together, to really be united, and we're all behind the coach no matter what happens. We wanted to make him feel like he wasn't alone."
Michael Olise assisted Mbappé's second goal, notching his tournament-leading fifth assist — he is just one shy of tying Pelé's 1970 record of six assists in a single tournament.
With Mbappé, Olise, and the rest of France playing near-perfectly, Les Bleus are the favorites to at minimum reach their third straight World Cup final.
