France’s captain, Kylian Mbappe, continued his love affair with scoring goals at the World Cup. The talismanic striker scored a brace in Les Bleus’ comprehensive 3-0 win against Sweden in the round of 32 at New Jersey on Tuesday.

The brace helped Mbappe break the record for most goals in World Cup knockout matches. Furthermore, he is now only one goal away from Lionel Messi’s overall tournament tally.

Mbappe has scored six goals in four matches of the ongoing World Cup and has also provided two assists. The Real Madrid star was once again unstoppable on Tuesday, but he thinks his team was a bit timid at the start.

“I’m very aware of who I am, how I play, what I shall do, but it’s not just about me,” Mbappé said through a translator. “The entire team is aware of what should be done. It is a new competition that has started today. We did play well, but we were timid. We could have done better at the beginning.”

This was Didier Deschamps’ first game after he returned to the setup following the death of his mother. Mbappe was quick to run to his manager after he scored the team’s opener at the stroke of half-time.

“He knows that he will never be alone with us and we will support him,” Mbappé said.

“We’re on a mission — so am I with them,” Deschamps said through a translator.

Meanwhile, Olise had a fantastic game for France, providing two assists and was inches away from scoring. He now has five assists in the tournament, the most by a single player at a men’s World Cup since Thomas Hässler for Germany in 1994.

“He does everything on the pitch,” Barcola, who scored France’s second goal, said of Olise. “He works hard defensively and with the ball, he does great passes, brings danger and it’s a real pleasure to play with him.

“He has the capacity of scoring too and he came close, but it will come. He is a genius. I see him as a genius.”

France will next take on Paraguay in the round of 16.