Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as France progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a laboured 1-0 win over an aggressive and cynical Paraguay side on Saturday evening. The South Americans, who upset Germany in the previous round, were always expected to make for awkward and uncompromising opponents for the tournament favourites but it was nonetheless surprising just how much Didier Deschamps' stellar forward line struggled to create chances in Philadelphia.

Egypt’s coaching staff utilised meticulous modern analytical methods to mastermind their historic World Cup knockout triumph over Australia in Dallas. Minutes before the penalty shootout commenced, players gathered around a laptop screen to study specific footage of Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe facing Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

Kylian Mbappe is capable of completing a clean sweep on the trophy front in 2026, Louis Saha has told GOAL, with the France international in contention for World Cup, Golden Boot, Golden Ball and Ballon d’Hor honours. The Real Madrid forward has been starring on the grandest of stages, with the perfect response being delivered to some “strange criticism”.

It's fair to say that France's forward line has taken the 2026 World Cup by storm. After winning all three of their group games, Les Bleus defeated Sweden 3-0 in the round of 32 to become the tournament's top scorers at the time of writing, with 13 goals. Unsurprisingly, Kylian Mbappe has accounted for the majority of those goals, with the Real Madrid superstar striking six times in four outings so far.

Discover the leading goal scorers in men's World Cup history and how they made their mark.