•Mexico overcome Ecuador to sail through

France delivered a commanding display on Tuesday, defeating Sweden 3-0 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 clash.

The victory secured France’s place in the Round of 16 after a dominant performance from Didier Deschamps’ side.

Les Bleus controlled possession from the opening whistle, forcing Sweden into a defensive approach throughout the contest.

France moved the ball quickly and created several chances but struggled to find the breakthrough early.

Their persistence finally paid off in the 45th minute through captain Kylian Mbappe’s clinical finish.

Mbappe converted Ousmane Dembele’s pass, giving France a deserved lead before the interval.

The goal reflected France’s first-half superiority and boosted their confidence heading into the second period.

France resumed after the break with greater intensity and continued dictating the match tempo.

Their pressure produced another goal in the 53rd minute when Bradley Barcola doubled their advantage.

Michael Olise supplied an excellent assist, allowing Barcola to calmly beat the Swedish goalkeeper.

Sweden tried to respond by pushing forward, but France’s disciplined defence remained difficult to penetrate.

The French backline stayed organised, while their forwards continued threatening whenever they launched attacks.

Mbappe completed the victory in the 74th minute with his second goal of the match.

Olise again created the opportunity, delivering another superb assist for the French captain’s composed finish.

The brace confirmed Mbappe’s influence as he led France’s attack with pace and precision.

“It was a great team performance. We showed focus and quality,” Mbappe said after the match.

Olise impressed throughout the encounter, creating two goals and driving France’s attacking movements.

Barcola also made a significant impact, adding another important goal to France’s convincing victory.

Sweden endured a difficult evening, struggling to match France’s creativity and attacking threat.

In spite of their defensive effort, the Swedes failed to create enough clear chances against the favourites.

France’s performance demonstrated their squad depth and attacking strength ahead of the knockout rounds.

The result sends Les Bleus into the last 16 with renewed confidence and momentum.

Sweden leave the tournament after being outplayed by one of the leading contenders.

France will next face Paraguay in the Round of 16 as they continue their title pursuit.

Meanwhile, in the late fixture, Mexico continued their impressive tournament, easing past Ecuador in the capital to cruise into the Round of 16, without having conceded a goal.

Mexico have proven close to impenetrable and kept a clean sheet for a fourth straight fixture, another where their array of attacking stars dazzled once again.

With Ecuador pushing high up the pitch, the opener came through the vision and quick thinking of Roberto Alvarado who found Julian Quinones just inside his own half, with the Saudi Arabia-based forward then racing through on goal and lashing past Hernan Galindez.

Quinones then turned provider as he released Raul Jimenez after a poor clearance from Joel Ordonez to smash home a second. Cesar Montes came close to adding a third midway through the second period in a clash where the hosts proved too far good for their South American foes, who saw Piero Hincapie sent off late on. Mexico now await the winner of the England-Congo DR clash. (Pieced together from stories by NAN and FIFA)

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