Kylian Mbappe brushed aside his Sweden markers, curled a superb finish into the far corner, then brushed aside his teammates. He had only one destination: the France dugout, where Didier Deschamps waited. The Real Madrid forward ran straight into his head coach’s arms, embracing him as the rest of the squad joined in a group hug — a moment of unity after an emotional few days for the France boss.
Deschamps had returned to the dugout for the first time since leaving the World Cup camp to attend the funeral of his mother. He missed the final group-stage win over Norway, where assistant Guy Stephan took charge. Speaking ahead of the Sweden match, the 57-year-old said: “How am I? I’m doing okay. Obviously I had complicated days where I was devastated. But for my own personal well-being and for the good of the France team, I had to leave. It’s good to have my head occupied.”
“Mbappe hugs grieving Deschamps after goal as France crush Sweden 3-0 to reach last 16.”
France’s 3-0 dismantling of Sweden in the baking New Jersey heat booked a last-16 tie with Paraguay in Philadelphia on 4 July. After a frustrating first half, Mbappe’s in the 45th minute broke the deadlock, moving him level on six goals with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Bradley Barcola made it 2-0 before Mbappe added his second.
The performance left pundits stunned. “You cannot stop this kind of ability,” former England striker Ian Wright told ITV Sport. “France are one of the most clear favourites I have ever seen in a World Cup tournament.” Patrick Vieira, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, added: “They showed to everyone that they are the team to beat.”
It was not just the finishing that impressed. France became the first team to score three or more goals in five straight World Cup matches, and Michael Olise contributed two more assists to take his tournament tally to five. But the spirit was equally striking. Midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni said: “We know the coach is going through a lot, we are trying to give everything to make him as happy as possible.”
Deschamps, who learned of his mother’s death after France’s 3-0 win over Iraq, praised the squad’s togetherness. “This group is united and they delivered when I was not here last week. The collective strength is above everything.” FIFA rejected France’s request for a minute’s silence and black armbands in honour of Deschamps’ mother, instead instructing a silence for earthquake victims in Venezuela. Adrien Rabiot said Deschamps had hidden his emotions to avoid distracting the squad from avenging their penalty shootout loss to Argentina in the 2022 final. Four years on, Les Bleus look determined to go all the way.