Kylian Mbappé Chasing World Cup History Ahead of Paraguay Clash

Kylian Mbappé is chasing history, but he is not pretending otherwise: the only record that really matters to him sits on a podium in New York on July 19.

France’s 27-year-old spearhead struck twice in a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of Sweden in the round of 32, edging to 18 World Cup goals in 18 games and moving to within one of Lionel Messi’s all-time mark of 19. He now stands alongside the Argentine at the top of the scoring charts at this tournament with six.

The numbers are extraordinary. Mbappé treats them as a side dish.

“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 everything around the route to the final, not the record books.

He knows how the game works. Strikers live on goals, legacies get weighed in statistics. He just refuses to let that be his compass.

“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.

“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 next chance comes against Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday, a meeting of giants and minnows on paper, if not in this World Cup’s increasingly unpredictable reality. France’s path looks trickier: Paraguay await in Philadelphia for a place in the quarter-finals, with co-hosts Canada or Morocco lying beyond that.

France brace for Paraguay’s low block

Paraguay arrive with a clear blueprint and a fresh scalp. They dragged four-time world champions Germany into deep water on Monday and dumped them out on penalties, their ultra-defensive approach suffocating the European side for long stretches.

There is no sense they will suddenly open up against Mbappé and company.

France, though, have seen enough upsets in this round to know better than to lean on reputation. Mbappé was quick to stress that, behind the swagger of a 3-0 win, there is still work to be done.

“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.”

That ability has rarely looked sharper. Against Sweden, France’s attack purred, the Real Madrid forward at the centre of everything, yet the embrace that followed one of his goals told a different story. Mbappé and his team-mates sprinted straight to Didier Deschamps, wrapping their coach in a group hug 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.”

The football was ruthless. The emotion, raw. It is a combination that tends to travel far in tournaments.

Belgium’s golden generation on the clock

Elsewhere, another European heavyweight is trying to squeeze one last deep run out of a fading golden generation.

Belgium have already exorcised one ghost. Four years after their limp group-stage exit in Qatar, they have topped Group G, finishing with one win and two draws before a 5-1 demolition of New Zealand that restored some of the swagger last seen in their 2018 bronze-medal run.

Coach Rudi Garcia set a simple target for the first phase and ticked it off.

“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.”

Now comes the real test: Senegal in Seattle on Wednesday, with the stakes sharpened by what has already happened in this round. Germany are out. The Netherlands are out. Both fell to underdogs – Paraguay and Morocco – on a nerve-shredding night of penalties.

Romelu Lukaku, who has carried Belgium’s attack for more than a decade, sounded the alarm before those shocks even unfolded.

“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.”

Those words felt prophetic a few hours later. Suddenly, every favourite is glancing over its shoulder.

“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” 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 defence has been one of the tournament’s quieter success stories, conceding only two goals in three games with Thibaut Courtois back to his commanding best in goal. Reinforcements are on the way, too. Center back Zeno Debast has returned to full training after a left leg injury and took part on Monday and Tuesday, his knee taped, but Garcia is not rushing him.

“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 sense opportunity

Senegal, though, arrive with their own momentum. They routed Iraq 5-0 to punch their ticket from a brutal Group I that also featured France and Erling Haaland’s Norway, finishing third with three points and a plus-2 goal difference.

Sadio Mané leads the line, the symbol and engine of their ambition. The question is whether they can break down a Belgian back line that has looked as tight as any in the competition.

They will have to do it without first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, injured in a 3-2 loss to Norway in the group stage. Coach Pape Thiaw confirmed he will miss the Belgium game, with Mory Diaw set to continue after his clean sheet against Iraq.

“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 carnage in the bracket as everyone else. For him, it is not a warning; it is an invitation.

“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 veterans – Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku and the remnants of a generation that promised the world – this feels like a crossroads. The legs are older, the window narrower, the margin for error non-existent. Senegal will test every bit of that.

England walk a tightrope in Atlanta

If any squad needed a reminder that pedigree counts for little in this World Cup, it is England.

Thomas Tuchel’s side step into their last-16 tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta with two European giants already gone from the stage. Germany and the Netherlands are on their way home. England do not intend to join them.

The mission is clear enough: end a 60-year wait for a major trophy. The route is anything but straightforward.

Tuchel did not duck the reality of Wednesday’s match-up.

“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.

Then came the caveat.

“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 world-class axis through midfield and attack. They must do it without Reece James, the influential defender ruled out through injury.

On the other side stands a DR Congo squad built from the diaspora, a team that has scoured the football world for players with roots in the vast Central African nation. Of the 26-man group, 20 were born outside Congo, most in France.

Yoane Wissa is a familiar face to English fans from the Premier League. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, born in London, represented England at under-21 level before switching allegiance. Axel Tuanzebe also came through England’s youth ranks.

Coach Sébastien Desabre knows where the pressure lies, and it is not on his players.

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

He is right. England carry the weight of history; DR Congo carry the freedom of a side nobody expected to be here.

USA brace for a defining night

Across the Atlantic, a different kind of tension is building.

In a crowded American sports landscape, football has spent years fighting for oxygen. On Wednesday night in the San Francisco Bay Area, the USA’s players will feel the weight of a country tuning in like never before.

Up to 30 million Americans are expected to watch their knockout clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina, a primetime audience for a team chasing its first World Cup knockout win in almost 25 years.

“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 and his teammates have carried the burden of being “the generation” that might finally push the sport over the tipping point in the United States. Nights like this are where that narrative is either forged or exposed.

Haaland, Norway and the new order

All around them, the landscape keeps shifting.

Erling Haaland has dragged Norway into the last 16 for the first time, poking home the decisive goal in a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. It was not one of his thunderbolts, but it was enough. Norway, long on potential and short on major-tournament pedigree, now stand where Germany and the Netherlands do not.

The message from this World Cup is brutal and simple: reputations are just luggage.

Mbappé and Messi are locked in a scoring duel that could redefine the record books. Belgium’s old guard are clinging to one last shot. England are trying to outrun their own history. The USA are chasing a moment that could change the sport at home.

All of them step into knockouts that have already chewed up giants.

Who still dares to call themselves a favourite now?