Mexico, Ecuador set to start at 12pm AEST
The round of 32 match between Mexico and Ecuador will now start at midday (AEST) instead of 11am due to a thunderstorm in the Mexico City Stadium area.
Mexico are aiming to qualify for the round of 16 and inch closer to equalling their best performances in the World Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, playing at home, in 1970 and 1986.
Fireworks, dancing outside hotel as Ecuador make noise complaint
As we wait for an update on when the Mexico v Ecuador clash will begin in Mexico City following lightning near the stadium, Ecuador have reportedly made an official complaint about noise outside their hotel overnight.
The Athletic reported that the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) sent a complaint to FIFA after Mexican fans set up an impromptu street party outside their opponent’s hotel, which included loud music, dancing, horns, revving engines and even fireworks.
As experienced football fans will know, this is a regular occurrence for visiting teams throughout Latin America as the Socceroos found during their World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay in 1997 and 2001 – they also received crank calls to their hotel rooms and were intimidated at the airport when fans rocked their bus.
So you could argue Ecuador have got off pretty lightly.
There are some great videos on social media of fans joining the party.
Mexico clash delayed due to weather
The clash between Mexico and Ecuador in Mexico City has been delayed due to lightning in the area.
The game was meant to start at 11am AEST.
Golden Boot: Over to you, Messi
We’ve reported on the must-watch race for the Golden Boot at this tournament with Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi setting the pace on six goals with Erling Haaland, five goals, staying in it after his Norway side progressed this morning.
Messi and Argentina are set to play their round of 32 match against Cape Verde on Saturday at 8am AEST.
Here is how the standings look after Mbappe scored twice for France today.
For those wondering about the all-time World Cup scoring record, Messi remains on top with 19 goals, Mbappe went up to 18 goals in the Sweden match.
Mbappe, Deschamps in perfect harmony as France gather steam
New Jersey: France’s 1998 World Cup triumph was built on a special bond between coach Aime Jacquet and his on-field lieutenant Didier Deschamps.
Twenty-eight years later, Deschamps the coach has built a strikingly similar relationship with Kylian Mbappe, trusting his captain to carry the entire squad with him as Les Bleus chase another World Cup.
When Mbappe opened the scoring in France’s 3-0 victory over Sweden in the last 32 on Tuesday, he sprinted straight to the touchline and into the arms of Didier Deschamps, who had returned four days earlier after attending his mother’s funeral.
One by one, every France player followed, surrounding their coach in a spontaneous embrace that spoke volumes about the unity coursing through the squad.
The path ahead in the round of 32
Here is how the Round of 32 looks after France’s win over Sweden today.
Our last game for today will be Mexico vs Ecuador at 11am AEST.
Potter sees promising years to come despite loss
Sweden coach Graham Potter believes this World Cup campaign is the start of something promising for his adopted nation despite their exit against France today.
Potter was disappointed his side conceded a goal just before half-time before France scored two more times for a 3-0 win.
But with young talent across the side and Potter signed until 2030, Sweden are confident they can be much stronger in the years to come – the likes of Lucas Bergvall, Anthony Elanga and Viktor Gyokeres have plenty of years ahead of them.
“We are disappointed to go out, we weren’t ready to go home, and we wanted more,” Potter said post-game.
“I’m so proud of this team. France will go through and they were the better team, but we had our chances and couldn’t take them.
“This is the start of something for us, but we are disappointed for now because we wanted to go on.”
Full-time stats
Full-time: France 3-0 Sweden
Another Kylian Mbappe masterclass and another France win, this time in their round of 32 clash with Sweden where they triumphed 3-0.
Metlife Stadium has seen plenty of epic NFL performances, now the World Cup favourites have made their star turn and done so in impressive fashion.
France will play Paraguay in Philadelphia in the round of 16.
Mbappe scored twice, Bradley Barcola scored as well and Michael Olise was the chief creator.
Mbappe is tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot on six goals this tournament. Messi will play again on Saturday when Argentina play Cape Verde.
Mbappe, Olise get curtain call
Deschamps has given his two most dangerous attackers curtain calls, taking Mbappe and Olise off in the 83rd minute.
They have done their jobs with France up 3-0.
Striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is one of the players to come on. The towering striker has a great goal celebration – the corner flags had better watch out if Mateta gets a goal.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
