The day’s action produced several historic moments, including Kylian Mbappe breaking a major World Cup record, Norway reaching the knockout stage for the first time, and Mexico ending a four-decade wait for a World Cup knockout victory.

At New Jersey Stadium in New York, France dominated Sweden from start to finish. Mbappe scored twice, while Bradley Barcola added another goal as the 2022 finalists secured a comfortable passage into the next round.

Mbappe opened the scoring just before halftime and struck again in the second half to take his tally to six goals in the tournament. The French captain has now matched Lionel Messi's goal count in the current World Cup edition and moved to the top of the scoring charts.

More significantly, Mbappe became the highest scorer in World Cup knockout history with 10 goals, surpassing Brazilian legends Leonidas and Ronaldo, who both scored eight. His overall World Cup tally now stands at 18 goals, leaving him just one short of Messi’s all-time World Cup record of 19.

France controlled proceedings throughout the contest, outshooting Sweden 25-7 and creating chances at regular intervals. Michael Olise played a crucial role in the attack, providing two assists and continuing his impressive tournament form.

Barcola doubled France’s advantage early in the second half after a flowing move involving Aurelien Tchouameni and Olise. Mbappe then completed his brace to seal the result and underline France’s status as one of the tournament favourites.

The victory was also emotional for France head coach Didier Deschamps, who rejoined the squad after attending his mother’s funeral. France have now scored 13 goals and conceded only two in the competition so far.

They will face Paraguay in the Round of 16 on July 5.

Earlier, Norway achieved a major milestone by defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 and reaching the pre-quarterfinal stage for the first time in World Cup history.

Antonio Nusa gave Norway the lead in the 39th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the penalty area. Ivory Coast responded through Amad Diallo, who levelled the scores in the 74th minute after combining neatly with Nicolas Pepe.

With extra time looming, Erling Haaland delivered once again. The Manchester City striker scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute after being set up by Patrick Berg, who drew multiple defenders before finding his teammate in space.

The goal was Haaland’s fifth of the tournament and secured a historic victory for the Scandinavian side. Norway will now face five-time champions Brazil in a highly anticipated Round of 16 clash on July 6.

Meanwhile, co-hosts Mexico celebrated one of their most significant World Cup victories in recent memory by defeating Ecuador 2-0 in Mexico City.

Julian Quinones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before veteran striker Raul Jimenez doubled the advantage nine minutes later. Ecuador’s hopes suffered a further setback deep into stoppage time when Piero Hincapie was shown a red card.

The win ended a painful run for Mexico, who had failed to win a World Cup knockout match since defeating Bulgaria at the 1986 tournament. Since then, the team had suffered seven consecutive knockout-stage defeats before finally ending the streak on home soil.

The match was not without controversy. Ecuador reportedly raised concerns before kickoff over disturbances outside their team hotel, while a homophobic chant from sections of the crowd was again heard during the match, an issue that has previously resulted in disciplinary action and fines from FIFA.

Mexico will now face either England or DR Congo in the next round as the World Cup knockout stage continues to gather momentum.