Kylian Mbappé Chasing World Cup Glory, Not Lionel Messi

Kylian Mbappé is chasing history, but he is not chasing Lionel Messi.

Not yet, anyway.

The France forward moved to within one goal of Messi’s all-time World Cup record on Tuesday night, scoring twice in a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of Sweden in the round of 32. That took him to 18 goals in 18 World Cup games, one shy of Messi’s 19, and level with the Argentine on six at this tournament.

The numbers are extraordinary. Mbappé shrugs them off.

“The goal is to go as far as possible – to make it to July 19 and come back here,” he told reporters, eyes fixed not on the charts but on the trophy that will be lifted in New York.

France are moving like a team that believes that is their destiny. Sweden were brushed aside with a cold, clinical edge, Mbappé at the heart of everything, Real Madrid’s new star gliding through a defence that never got close enough to lay a glove on him.

He knows exactly what the goals mean. He just refuses to make them the story.

“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’s Argentina now face Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday, a mismatch on paper but another stage for the reigning world champion to stretch his record. Mbappé’s route is far more treacherous. France head to Philadelphia to meet Paraguay, the team that just kicked Germany out of the tournament on penalties with an ultra-defensive masterclass.

Paraguay did not come to entertain against the four-time world champions. They came to survive. They did that and more.

There is no expectation they will open up against France.

Mbappé knows it. “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 will do their homework. They have to. Waiting in the quarter-finals would be either co-hosts Canada, buoyed by home noise and momentum, or a hardened Morocco side that has already sent one European giant packing.

For all the fireworks in France’s attack, this World Cup has turned into a graveyard for favourites.

Germany are out. The Netherlands are out. Both fell on penalties in the round of 32, Germany to Paraguay, the Dutch to Morocco, their earliest World Cup exit.

Belgium, England and the USA have been warned.

Belgium’s golden generation on the clock

Belgium have already taken a small step away from the scars of Qatar. Top of Group G, a 5-1 demolition of New Zealand in their final group game, and a place in the knockouts: that alone marks an improvement on their group-stage collapse four years ago.

Rudi Garcia wanted his side to win the group. They did that. Now the real test arrives.

Senegal await in the round of 32 on Wednesday, a dangerous opponent with pace, pedigree and nothing to fear.

“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia 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.”

Belgium’s World Cup story is written in two chapters: the exhilarating high of third place in 2018, then the brutal low of 2022. This tournament might be the final act for the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

To call it a success, they must go past Senegal.

On paper, it looks straightforward. Senegal finished third in Group I, with three points and a plus-2 goal difference, squeezed in a brutal pool that featured France and Erling Haaland’s Norway. But those numbers hide a team that has just thrashed Iraq 5-0 and carries genuine threat through Sadio Mané.

Lukaku, who knows the scars of underestimation, refused to play that game.

“We know it will be a tough match,” he 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 reinforced the point. While Lukaku talked, Germany were being ambushed by Paraguay, and Morocco were sending the Netherlands home. The bracket has been ripped open. Reputation counts for nothing.

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

Belgium’s edge so far has been at the back. Thibaut Courtois has conceded only twice in three matches, the defensive unit in front of him largely unruffled. There is a boost of sorts, too: center back Zeno Debast is finally available after a left leg injury, although Garcia made clear he will not be rushed.

“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” the coach 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 will have to find a way past Courtois without their first-choice goalkeeper. Édouard Mendy, injured in a 3-2 defeat to Norway in the group, is out. Mory Diaw, who replaced him against Iraq and kept a clean sheet, is set to continue.

“Mory had a great performance,” coach Pape 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 watched Paraguay and Morocco tear up the script on Monday. He sees no reason his side cannot do the same.

“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 golden generation, the journey is either extended or ended in Seattle. There is no middle ground left.

England walk the tightrope against DR Congo

England know exactly what is happening around them. Germany gone. The Netherlands gone. Heavyweights tipped out before the serious business has even begun.

They face the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday, a tie that looks lopsided on paper and deeply uncomfortable in reality.

The Three Lions are still chasing an end to a 60-year drought without a major trophy. This World Cup is supposed to be their moment, with a squad loaded with Champions League winners and a coach, Thomas Tuchel, steeped in knockout football.

Tuchel did not bother to deny the obvious.

“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),” he said on Tuesday.

Then came the warning.

“The games so far in round of 32 speak a very clear language. It’s narrow, narrow margins.”

England will lean heavily on Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, their twin pillars of control and cutting edge. They will have to do it without Reece James, the influential defender ruled out through injury, a loss that robs Tuchel of one of his key outlets on the right.

DR Congo arrive with a squad that reflects a footballing diaspora. Of their 26 players, 20 were born outside the country, many in France, some in England. Yoane Wissa is a familiar face to Premier League defenders. Aaron Wan-Bissaka grew up in London and played for England at under-21 level. Axel Tuanzebe also came through the English youth system.

They know the opponent. They know the stage. They have nothing to lose.

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

That pressure has only intensified with each European heavyweight that has fallen. England cannot pretend they have not seen it.

USA brace for a defining night

Across the Atlantic, another nation stands on the edge of something bigger than a single result.

The USA face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday in what the players know could be a watershed moment for the sport in their country. It is a primetime slot, and the numbers tell their own story: up to 30 million Americans are expected to tune in.

For a team that has not tasted a knockout win at a World Cup in almost 25 years, the stakes go far beyond the quarter-final bracket.

“Everyone knows in the back of our minds what this could do for this country,” midfielder Gio Reyna said. “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 will carry the armband and much of the expectation. The USA have seen growth in MLS, in European exports, in packed stadiums for club friendlies. What they lack is a defining World Cup run. Bosnia-Herzegovina stand between them and the chance to build one.

In a tournament where favourites keep stumbling, the opportunity is as big as the risk.

France’s fire, Deschamps’ grief

While others fret about pressure, France are playing with a clarity that comes only from belief and shared purpose.

Their 3-0 win over Sweden was not just a statement of intent. It was a showcase of a team in full flow, with Mbappé at his devastating best and a squad united around a coach carrying private pain.

After one of Mbappé’s goals, the players sprinted to the touchline to embrace Didier Deschamps, whose mother died this month. It was a small, raw moment that cut through the usual World Cup theatre.

“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, there was no sign of distraction. Only control, incision and a sense of inevitability whenever France attacked.

Elsewhere, Erling Haaland dragged Norway into the last 16 for the first time, poking home the decisive goal in a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. Another star, another storyline in a World Cup that refuses to settle into any predictable pattern.

Mbappé is a goal away from Messi’s record. Messi has a kind-looking tie and the aura of a man who has bent World Cups to his will before. Belgium’s golden generation are staring at the clock. England are walking the same tightrope that has already swallowed Germany and the Netherlands. The USA are playing for more than a scoreline.

The bracket is wide open. The question now is not just who survives the chaos, but who has the nerve – and the legs – to turn it into a path to New York on July 19.