Kylian Mbappé Chasing History in World Cup Knockouts
Kylian Mbappé is chasing history, but he is hunting something bigger than Lionel Messi’s record.
On a humid night in the round of 32, France brushed Sweden aside 3-0, Mbappé scoring twice to move to 18 World Cup goals in 18 games. One shy of Messi’s all-time mark of 19. Level with him on six at the top of this tournament’s scoring charts.
The numbers are staggering. Mbappé barely flinched.
“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, his focus fixed firmly on New York and the trophy, not the record books.
He knows what the goals mean. He just refuses to let them define his month.
“We’re trying to win; we’re taking it one step at a time. 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 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 now turn to Cape Verde in the last 32, a mismatch on paper that could give the Argentine another chance to pull away. Mbappé’s route looks trickier. France face Paraguay in Philadelphia for a place in the quarter-finals, with co-hosts Canada or Morocco waiting beyond that.
Paraguay have already ripped up the script once. Against Germany, they parked the bus, locked the doors and dragged a four-time world champion into a penalty shootout they had no intention of losing. They will not suddenly open up and trade blows with France.
Mbappé knows it.
“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.”
France’s attacking verve was on full display against Sweden. The night had an emotional edge, too. After one of his goals, Mbappé and his teammates sprinted to Didier Deschamps, wrapping their coach in a long embrace, a quiet act of solidarity 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.”
France look ruthless, but this World Cup has already reminded the giants that reputations mean nothing in the knockouts.
Germany are gone. The Netherlands are gone. Both toppled in the round of 32, both undone by teams who refused to be overawed. Paraguay dragged Germany into deep water and finished the job on penalties. Morocco sent the Dutch home earlier than they have ever left a World Cup.
Those shocks hang over every favourite now. Belgium know it better than most.
Belgium’s second chance
Four years ago in Qatar, Belgium’s so-called golden generation stumbled out at the group stage, a dismal follow-up to their third-place finish at Russia 2018. This time they have at least cleared that first hurdle, winning Group G with a 5-1 dismantling of New Zealand and a record of one win and two draws.
For coach Rudi Garcia, that was the minimum.
“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” he said in French. “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.”
Senegal, third in Group I with three points and a plus-2 goal differential, arrive battle-hardened. Their group featured France and an Erling Haaland-led Norway. They survived it and then tore Iraq apart 5-0.
Romelu Lukaku is under no illusions.
“We know it will be a tough match,” the striker said in French. “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 only sharpened that warning. While Lukaku spoke, Germany and the Netherlands were already sliding towards the trapdoor. Paraguay and Morocco finished the job.
“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” said Belgium 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’s strength so far has been their defensive platform. With Thibaut Courtois in goal, they have conceded just two in three games. Behind him, Garcia has resisted the temptation to rush back Zeno Debast, the talented center back who has yet to play a minute this summer after a left leg injury.
“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.”
Senegal, though, will ask different questions. Sadio Mané leads an attack that just put five past Iraq, and they believe they can slice through even a tight Belgian back line.
There is a problem at the other end. Pape Thiaw’s side will be without first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, injured in that wild 3-2 defeat to Norway in the group stage. Mory Diaw, who came in against Iraq and kept a clean sheet, is set to continue.
“Mory had a great performance,” Thiaw said in French. “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 the same upsets as everyone else. To him, they are not warnings. They are inspiration.
“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.”
For Belgium’s ageing core – Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku and the remnants of that 2018 side – this feels like a last dance. Senegal, in Seattle, will test just how much rhythm they have left.
England on alert, USA on the brink of a moment
England have watched the carnage from a distance. On Wednesday, it is their turn to step into the minefield.
Thomas Tuchel’s side meet the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta for a place in the last 16, knowing two European heavyweights have already paid for complacency.
“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. The next sentence came with a warning. “The games so far in round of 32 speak a very clear language. It’s narrow, narrow margins.”
England’s ambition is clear: end a 60-year wait for a major trophy. They will lean heavily on Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, their world-class axis through the middle. They will have to do it without Reece James, the influential defender ruled out through injury.
Across from them stands one of the most cosmopolitan squads in the tournament. DR Congo have scoured the globe for talent with roots in the vast Central African nation. Of the 26-man group, 20 were born outside Congo, many in France.
Yoane Wissa brings Premier League familiarity. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, born in London and once an England under-21 international, now wears Congolese colours. Axel Tuanzebe, another former England youth representative, adds more English flavour to the opposition.
For coach Sébastien Desabre, that blend has already delivered more than many expected.
“Our World Cup is already a success relative to our goals,” the Frenchman said. “The pressure is on the England team.”
Pressure is something the USA are learning to live with too. On Wednesday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, they walk into what could be the defining match in their football history: a knockout tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina, with a nation watching like never before.
Up to 30 million Americans are expected to tune in. Prime time. A home World Cup. A chance to win a knockout game for the first time in almost 25 years.
“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.”
Christian Pulisic and his teammates have carried the weight of expectation through the group stage. Now the stakes jump. One win, and the sport’s surge in the United States accelerates again.
Haaland breaks new ground, the field tightens
While the spotlight burns on Mbappé and Messi, another superstar quietly made history of his own. Erling Haaland, the relentless Norwegian, poked home the goal that carried Norway into the last 16 for the first time with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.
It was not as spectacular as some of his club finishes. It did not need to be. It was decisive, and it changed his country’s World Cup story.
That has been the pattern of this knockout phase so far. Margins, not margins of error. A deflection here, a penalty shootout there, and giants either advance or vanish.
France, with Mbappé in full flow and Deschamps held close by his players, look ominous. Belgium’s golden generation are staring at one more shot. England are walking into a tie they cannot afford to treat lightly. The USA are playing for more than a result.
And somewhere in New York, a date is already circled in Mbappé’s mind: July 19. The records can wait. The World Cup will not.
