Didier Deschamps returned to the World Cup dugout in time to witness his final and perhaps most complete French side comfortably dispatch Sweden in the Round of 32.

Les Bleus scored three goals for the fourth time in a row at these finals, and all three were a joy to watch as Kylian Mbappé notched up his fifth and sixth of the tournament and Bradley Barcola added his second.

Mbappé is now tied with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot and sits just one down on the new all-time World Cup record that the Argentine set last week (18 to Messi’s 19). And Micheal Olise tops the assists chart after setting up the first and second French goals, taking his tally to five. Paraguay are next up for Deschamps and co.

🇫🇷 🇸🇪 On the whistle match report

Playing their first knockout tournament football since 1998, Norway powered past Ivory Coast to set up a date with Brazil in the Round of 16 - a team they have never lost to in their history (two wins, two draws).

After substitute Amad Diallo had impressively cancelled out Antonio Nusa’s equally dynamic first half effort on 74 minutes, the remainder of the game was all about providing Erling Haaland with the chance he would need to see Norway through. And following superb interplay from Oscar Bobb and Patrick Berg, Haaland did the honours with four minutes to spare.

It was a landmark goal for multiple reasons as Haaland became the fastest men’s player to reach 60 international goals (doing so in 53 appearances) and just the third to score in each of his first three World Cup games. It takes him to five for the tournament and means his run of scoring in consecutive competitive games moves to 13 (in which he has now scored 25 times).

Incidentally, in setting up Nusa’s opener, Martin Ødegaard also became the third player in World Cup history to provide an assist in his first three appearances at the finals.

📈 Haaland’s record breaking night

We were made to wait for the final game of the day as thunderstorms around Mexico City delayed kick off between the co-hosts and Sebastián Beccacece’s Ecuador.

The hold up only served to intensify the atmosphere inside the Estadio Azteca, Mexico’s Cathedral of football. The home side came roaring out of the blocks, scoring twice in the first half through Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez - the same players that got the goals in the opening game of the World Cup nearly three weeks ago.

El Tri held on to maintain their proud record at the famous old stadium, where they’ve lost just twice in 88 competitive games, claiming their fourth straight clean sheet at these finals in the process, and ending a run of eight World Cup knockout games without a win - their last came way back in 1986, also at the Azteca!

There’s another set of three fixtures in the Round of 32 coming up today.

England feature first, with the Three Lions taking on the Leopards of DR Congo in the wilds of Atlanta, Georgia. The winner faces the unenviable task of going to Mexico City to face the hosts in the last 16.

Elsewhere, an improving Belgian side face Senegal in Seattle, and the USMNT look to get back to winning ways against European outsiders Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two sides that get through those ties then meet in the next round.

With fellow co-hosts Canada and Mexico safely through to the Round of 16, the pressure is on the USA to complete the set at a tournament where 20 of the remaining 25 matches will take place in the States.

Standing in their way in San Francisco are an up-and-down Bosnia and Herzegovina side making their maiden appearance in the knockouts of a major tournament.

And Edin Džeko and co. might just have fire in their bellies after American reporter Abigail Verez went viral for claiming, live on air, she couldn’t find the Balkan nation on a map (for which she subsequently apologised).

🇺🇸 🇧🇦 USA-Bosnia match preview

Having frustrated more than impressed during the group stage, England will want to get their stuttering World Cup fully up and running in a first-ever meeting with DR Congo in Atlanta.

And the knockout stage could be where Thomas Tuchel really vindicates his appointment, given his formidable track record in such football. Tuchel led PSG to the 2019/20 Champions League final then went one better by winning it with Chelsea the following season – he’s done it at the highest level of the club game; can he transfer his considerable acumen to the international scene?

If he’s to do so, he’ll first have to guide his England side past DR Congo’s stubborn low block. The Leopards’ average possession of 39.6% is the fourth-lowest among teams still in the tournament – and we saw how England struggled, and ultimately failed, to break down one of the three sides still standing who’ve seen less of the ball, drawing 0-0 with Ghana.

The Three Lions also have issues with their own backline. With Reece James and his right-back stand-in Jarrell Quansah both injured, Tuchel has a decision to make there. Djed Spence lined up at left-back against Ghana but is England’s only fit out-and-out right-back.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇨🇩 England-DR Congo match preview

Belgium went some way to silencing the doubters by thrashing New Zealand 5-1 to top their group. “They've been heavily criticised and I think that's ugly,” head coach Rudi Garcia said of his team after that game. “They've shown on the field that they are immense players and all Belgians should be proud to have players like them.”

Belgium now face Senegal in Seattle, where the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations winners / finalists (depending on where you feel about CAF stripping them of the title) will be aiming to progress beyond the first knockout round for the first time since their memorable run to the quarter-finals of their debut World Cup in 2002.

Senegal, who have never played Belgium before, were the only third-placed team to reach the Round of 32 with three points – but they come into this clash having troubled France at times and only narrowly lost to Norway, scoring three goals across those two group games.