Kylian Mbappé and France Aim for World Cup Glory

Kylian Mbappé is chasing history, but not the kind that can be etched into a record book and forgotten. His eyes are fixed on New York, on July 19, on a World Cup final rather than a personal coronation.

On Tuesday in the round of 32, he reminded everyone why. Two ruthless finishes, a 3-0 dismantling of Sweden, and France cruising into the last 16 with the air of a team that expects to be in this tournament to the very end.

Mbappé now sits on 18 World Cup goals from just 18 games, one behind Lionel Messi’s all-time record of 19. He shares the top of this edition’s scoring chart with the Argentine on six. The numbers are staggering. He shrugs at them.

“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible – to make it to (the final on) July 19th and come back here,” he told reporters, framing the World Cup not as a personal duel with Messi, but as a journey with a single destination.

Yes, he knows what his goals mean. “Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings – I’m not telling anyone anything new there,” he said. But he immediately swerved away from the individual chase.

“I’m also convinced that Leo is going to score more goals, so I don’t focus too much on that. I’m more focused on the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”

Messi and Argentina will expect to swell those numbers against Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday. France, meanwhile, head to Philadelphia for a very different kind of challenge against Paraguay, a side that has already shown it can drag giants into deep water and keep them there.

France wary of Paraguay’s barricade

Paraguay’s reward for knocking out Germany on penalties is another date with a heavyweight. Their method is clear. Against the four-time world champions they dug in, defended with a kind of stubborn fury and waited for their moment.

No one expects them to suddenly open up against Mbappé and company.

For France, this is a trap as much as a tie. The talent gap is obvious, but the World Cup has been punishing anyone who assumes that’s enough. Mbappé, for one, has no intention of letting complacency creep in.

“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren't quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement,” he said. “Still, I think it’s positive overall, and our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”

The stakes are heavy. Beat Paraguay and a quarter-final against co-hosts Canada or Morocco awaits. Lose, and France join Germany and the Netherlands in the growing graveyard of European powers who thought they had time on their side.

The emotion around this French squad runs deeper than tactics and statistics. Against Sweden, after Mbappé struck, the players sprinted to embrace Didier Deschamps, a coach managing not only a World Cup campaign but personal grief after the recent death of his mother.

“I think that reflects the spirit of this group – it’s part of our DNA. We are all together,” Mbappé told beIN Sports. “We know the coach has been through a difficult experience; unfortunately, everyone goes through that at some point and it’s very hard.”

On the pitch, though, France look cold, clinical and very much alive. Six goals for their No 10, a forward line humming, a squad united around a coach in pain. Paraguay know exactly what they are trying to smother.

Belgium’s golden generation on the clock

Elsewhere, another European heavyweight steps into a knockout game with the sense that time is running out.

Belgium have already done one thing they failed to manage in Qatar: get out of the group. Top of Group G after a 5-1 thrashing of New Zealand, Rudi Garcia’s side have at least cleared the low bar set four years ago.

After the bronze-medal high of 2018, the early exit in 2022 felt like a brutal full stop for their so-called golden generation. This tournament offers a rewrite, but only if they keep moving.

“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia said. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”

One win, two draws, top spot secured. It’s tidy rather than spectacular, and Senegal in the round of 32 in Seattle is anything but a gentle reward.

Senegal emerged from one of the tournament’s most unforgiving groups, finishing third in Group I with three points and a plus-2 goal differential in a pool that included France and an Erling Haaland-led Norway. That alone should sharpen Belgian minds.

“We know it will be a tough match,” Romelu Lukaku said. “Senegal has a lot of top-level players, and the coach is, too. I think it’s 50-50. We really shouldn’t underestimate them.”

Events elsewhere have already underlined that point. Shortly after Lukaku spoke, Germany fell to Paraguay on penalties and Morocco dumped out the Netherlands, sending two giants home in the most brutal way.

“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” said forward Charles De Ketelaere. “We have confidence and need to be sharp. Yesterday showed that it doesn’t matter if you are the favorite.”

Belgium have been solid, conceding just two goals in three games with Thibaut Courtois anchoring the back line. They will need that defensive steel against a Senegal side that has just thrashed Iraq 5-0 and brims with attacking intent led by Sadio Mané.

Senegal’s problem is at the other end. Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, injured in a 3-2 loss to Norway in the group stage, will miss the clash, coach Pape Thiaw confirmed. Mory Diaw, who replaced him against Iraq and kept a clean sheet, is set to start again.

“Mory had a great performance,” Thiaw said. “He kept a clean sheet and I think (as) the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”

Thiaw has watched Paraguay and Morocco rewrite the script for underdogs. He wants his side to follow the same path.

“It’s not because you finished top of your group that you’re not going to be knocked out in the next round,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened with the Netherlands. It’s another tournament starting. We are looking for the win tomorrow so that we can continue our journey.”

Garcia, for his part, has a small boost at the back. Center back Zeno Debast is finally fit enough to rejoin the squad after a left leg injury and MRI, having trained with tape on his knee on Tuesday. He is not expected to start.

“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” Garcia said. “He is making progress, though. He still needs time to get fully fit, as was anticipated. I am very satisfied with the defenders we have already called upon.”

For Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku and the rest of this ageing core, there will not be many more chances like this. Senegal, fresh and fearless, will test exactly how much they have left.

England walking a tightrope of expectation

England arrive at their own crossroads on Wednesday. The opponent is the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta; the prize, a place in the last 16. The threat? Joining Germany and the Netherlands on an early flight home.

Two European heavyweights have already been dragged into penalty shootouts and dumped out by Paraguay and Morocco. The message to Thomas Tuchel’s squad could not be clearer.

“I feel it is a privilege to be in these situations. I think we can just accept it, we are the favorites (against DR Congo),” Tuchel said. Then he cut through any complacency. “The games so far in round of 32 speak a very clear language. It’s narrow, narrow margins.”

England are hunting something bigger than a single knockout win. They are trying to end a 60-year wait for a major trophy, a burden that grows heavier with every tournament cycle. This squad has the star power to carry it.

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane will shoulder much of the attacking responsibility, but Tuchel must do without influential defender Reece James, ruled out through injury. That absence tweaks the balance of a side that has leaned on James’s quality at both ends of the pitch.

DR Congo, by contrast, play with the freedom of a team that has already exceeded external expectations. Their squad tells a story of a global diaspora: 20 of the 26 players were born outside the country, many in France.

Yoane Wissa is a familiar face to English fans from the Premier League. Aaron Wan-Bissaka grew up in London and represented England at under-21 level. Axel Tuanzebe also came through England’s youth ranks. They know the English game. They know these opponents.

“Our World Cup is already a success relative to our goals,” said coach Sebastien Desabre. “The pressure is on the England team.”

It is. England have the talent. DR Congo have nothing to lose. In this World Cup, that has been a dangerous combination.

USA on the brink of a defining night

Across the Atlantic, the United States are bracing for a night that could reshape their sport’s standing at home.

In a country where football has long fought for space, Wednesday’s knockout tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the San Francisco Bay Area will unfold in primetime, with up to 30 million Americans expected to watch. For Christian Pulisic and his teammates, this is more than a match; it is a showcase.

They are chasing the nation’s first World Cup knockout victory in almost 25 years. The players feel the weight and the opportunity.

“Everyone knows in the back of our minds what this could do for this country,” said midfielder Gio Reyna. “We feel the country rallying around us. We see the momentum it’s bringing to the sport in this country, just through the group stage. But we also understand if we make a nice run in this tournament, what it could really do for the sport.”

The stage is set: a home World Cup, a primetime audience, a winnable but dangerous opponent. For the USA, this is the kind of night that can turn casual viewers into believers.

Haaland breaks new ground for Norway

While giants sweat, others quietly make history.

Erling Haaland, the towering symbol of Norway’s new era, poked home the goal that finally carried his country into the last 16 for the first time, a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast sealing their place. It was not spectacular by his standards, but it was monumental for his nation.

In a tournament increasingly defined by fine margins and late drama, Norway’s progress adds another ambitious outsider to a knockout field already bristling with danger.

From Mbappé’s pursuit of glory in New York to Belgium’s last stand, from England’s balancing act to the USA’s defining night, this World Cup is stripping away reputations and exposing reality. The question now is simple: who can still stand when the chaos comes for them?