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By Megan Armstrong
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France captain Kylian Mbappe is the man of the moment, but he shared his latest World Cup moment with his manager, Didier Deschamps.
Mbappe showed off magical footwork to get off a shot, scoring his fifth goal at the 2026 FIFA men's World Cup to put France up 1-0 over Sweden in the Round of 32, which France ran away with, 3-0. Ousmane Dembele wrapped his arms around Mbappe in celebration, but Mbappe wiggled out of the hug to sprint toward Deschamps.
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Mbappe pointed at Deschamps with a massive smile on his face before they embraced in a hug, which quickly became a Les Bleus group hug:
Deschamps briefly departed the team during the group stage to attend his mother's funeral in France last week. He returned to France's World Cup base over the weekend. France formally requested to wear black armbands in honor of Deschamps' mother for their group-stage match with Norway, but FIFA denied the request, per The Athletic.
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Deschamps is one of three men to have won the World Cup as both manager and player, per ESPN. He served as captain of the French team that won the World Cup in 1998 and has been the Les Bleus manager since 2012. France won the World Cup in 2018 and lost it to Argentina on penalties in 2022.
With his 45th-minute goal, Mbappe broke the record for most all-time knockout goals at the men's World Cup. He wasn't done, however. The Real Madrid star made it a brace with a gorgeous 74th-minute goal — his 18th goal in 18 World Cup matches across three World Cup tournaments. His six goals this June are tied with Lionel Messi atop the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race.
Mbappe's 18 all-time World Cup goals are just one behind Messi (19), who became the all-time leading World Cup goal scorer earlier this tournament, his sixth.
Appropriately, Deschamps bowed down to Mbappe when Jean-Philippe Mateta replaced Mbappe in the 85th minute.
France look every bit the overwhelming favorite to win this World Cup, preventing Messi and Argentina from becoming the first repeat men's World Cup champions since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. We can only hope for a 2022 World Cup final rematch between Argentina and France.
First things first: France will next face Paraguay in the Round of 16 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4.
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