France beat Sweden 3-0 as Mbappé equals Messi’s tournament goal tally

France defeated Sweden 3-0 at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday to book their place in the Round of 16 against Paraguay, with Kylian Mbappé producing his third brace of the tournament (Source: Photo by AP)

France's 27-year-old star scored the go-ahead goal with a brilliant crossover step in the 45th minute and added his sixth goal of the tournament in the 74th to tie Lionel Messi for the tournament scoring lead (Source: Photo by AP)

The strike also took Mbappé's career World Cup tally to 18 goals in 18 matches, leaving him one behind Messi's record of 19 (Source: Photo by AP)

In between, Bradley Barcola had a 53rd-minute goal for France, which became the first nation to score three or more goals in five consecutive World Cup matches (Source: Photo by AP)

Mbappé's brace also set a new World Cup knockout-stage scoring record with 10 career goals, surpassing the previous mark jointly held by Brazilian greats Leonidas and Ronaldo (Source: Photo by AP)

France coach Didier Deschamps bowed when Mbappé came to the bench after he was substituted in the 85th minute (Source: Photo by AP)

Sweden coach Graham Potter described France as the strongest team he had seen and praised the depth of their squad (Source: Photo by AP)

Seeking to reach its third straight World Cup final, France plays Paraguay on July 4 in Philadelphia (Source: Photo by AP)

The winner advances to a quarterfinal against Canada or Morocco five days later at Foxborough, Massachusetts (Source: Photo by AP)