Kylian Mbappé Eyes World Cup Glory as Belgium Faces Senegal
Kylian Mbappé walked off the pitch at the round of 32 with the match ball under his arm and Lionel Messi’s record firmly in his sights – but his gaze was fixed somewhere else entirely.
Not the scoring charts. Not the headlines. New York, July 19. The World Cup final.
The France captain struck twice in a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of Sweden on Tuesday, taking him to 18 World Cup goals in just 18 games, one behind Messi’s all-time mark of 19. He also moved level with the Argentine on six goals at this tournament.
The numbers are staggering. Mbappé treats them like background noise.
“I think the goal, as I said, is to go as far as possible – to make it to (the final on) July 19th and come back here,” he told reporters, framing his personal chase of history as a mere subplot.
Yes, he knows what each goal means for the record books.
“We’re trying to win; we’re taking it one step at a time. Of course, the more goals you score, the higher you climb in the rankings – I’m not telling anyone anything new there.”
Then came the twist that reveals where his mind really is.
“But I’m also convinced that Leo is going to score more goals, so I don’t focus too much on that. I’m more focused on the opponents we might face and how close we’re getting to our goal: the final.”
Messi and Argentina will be heavy favourites against Cape Verde in the last 32 on Friday. Mbappé and France, who brushed Sweden aside with the swagger of a team comfortable under knockout pressure, now head to Philadelphia to face a very different kind of challenge in Paraguay.
France brace for Paraguay’s defensive wall
Paraguay have already ripped up one script. They dragged four-time world champions Germany into a trench war on Monday, survived, and then kicked them out of the tournament on penalties. It was football stripped of frills: ultra-defensive, disciplined, unapologetic.
No one expects them to suddenly open up against Mbappé and company.
There will be no illusions inside the French camp about what awaits them on Saturday. Possession, pressure, patience – and the constant threat of a sucker punch if they switch off.
Mbappé made it clear that France, despite their firepower, cannot afford to cruise.
“I think we’ll keep working between now and the Paraguay match to see what we can improve, because there are still some sequences that aren't quite clear enough, there’s room for improvement,” he said.
He still sounded satisfied with the direction of travel.
“Still, I think it’s positive overall, and our ability to score goals means we always have the chance to take the lead in matches.”
For a side with his pace in transition and the variety around him, that’s a chilling prospect for any opponent planning to sit deep for 90 minutes – or longer.
The path is already sketched out. Beat Paraguay, and France will meet either co-hosts Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals. Messi, on the other side of the draw, continues his own march, starting with Cape Verde.
The records will be updated along the way. Mbappé is chasing something bigger.
Belgium step out of the shadows – and into a trap game
While Mbappé and Messi trade records, Belgium are trying to rewrite their own World Cup story.
They arrived in North America carrying the weight of a golden generation that never quite delivered the ultimate prize. A third-place finish in 2018, then the crash of 2022 in Qatar, where they failed to escape the group.
This time, they’ve cleared the first hurdle with authority.
A 5-1 demolition of New Zealand on Friday sealed top spot in Group G. One win, two draws, unbeaten, job done. It was exactly what coach Rudi Garcia demanded as a baseline.
“We wanted to finish first in the group stage and we succeeded,” Garcia said in French. “Of course we wanted to win more — we know the story of our World Cup so far. Now it is time for the knockout phase. Senegal is a big team. But, you have to beat them, too, if you want to go far in a World Cup.”
The message was clear: progress, but no celebrations yet.
Next up is Senegal on Wednesday, a side that finished third in a brutal Group I behind France and Erling Haaland’s Norway, yet still emerged with three points and a plus-2 goal difference. That tells its own story. This is no soft landing.
Romelu Lukaku, who has lived enough major tournaments to recognise danger when he sees it, did not sugarcoat the task.
“We know it will be a tough match,” the striker said in French. “Senegal has a lot of top-level players, and the coach is, too. I think it’s 50-50. We really shouldn’t underestimate them.”
Events elsewhere underlined his point with brutal clarity.
Just hours after Lukaku spoke, Germany were stunned by Paraguay on penalties and Morocco bundled the Netherlands out of the competition, sending another European heavyweight home far earlier than expected.
Belgium have been warned. Twice.
“It doesn’t matter who the favorite is,” forward Charles De Ketelaere said. “We have confidence and need to be sharp. Yesterday showed that it doesn’t matter if you are the favorite.”
That sharpness will be tested by a Senegal team that arrives with momentum and a cutting edge.
Mane, Courtois and a battle of belief
Senegal’s 5-0 thrashing of Iraq in the last round was a statement. Sadio Mané led the charge, and suddenly a side that had to scrap through the group stage looks like it can hurt opponents in multiple ways.
But their own defensive foundations have been shaken.
Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, injured in a 3-2 loss to Norway in the group phase, will not feature on Wednesday. Coach Pape Thiaw confirmed that reserve Mory Diaw, who kept a clean sheet against Iraq, is set to continue.
“Mory had a great performance,” Thiaw said in French. “He kept a clean sheet and I think (as) the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”
He will need to be at his best. Across from him stands Thibaut Courtois, the anchor of a Belgian defence that has conceded just two goals in three matches. Belgium may have lost some of the aura of their peak years, but with Courtois in goal, they remain one of the hardest sides to break down.
Thiaw, though, sees opportunity in the chaos of knockout football.
“It’s not because you finished top of your group that you’re not going to be knocked out in the next round,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened with the Netherlands. It’s another tournament starting. We are looking for the win tomorrow so that we can continue our journey.”
Belgium, at least, have received a boost at the back. Center back Zeno Debast, sidelined all summer with a left leg injury, is finally available again. Garcia, however, is not about to rush him.
Debast took part in his first full training session on Monday after an MRI on Saturday, then trained again on Tuesday with tape on his left knee.
“Zeno Debast is with the group, but tomorrow is still too soon,” Garcia said. “He is making progress, though. He still needs time to get fully fit, as was anticipated. I am very satisfied with the defenders we have already called upon.”
So Belgium will go into a dangerous tie with a settled back line, a world-class goalkeeper and a forward line that just put five past New Zealand. Senegal arrive with Mané in form, Diaw stepping into the spotlight, and a coach openly chasing an upset.
The giants are already falling at this World Cup. Mbappé is hunting history, Messi is defending it, and Belgium are trying to prove their moment has not passed.
Now comes the question that decides their tournament: do they handle the pressure, or join the list of favourites sent home too soon?
