Firm step from France, Norway, and Mexico to advance to the next round in this World Cup: Mbappé's brace to make history and Haaland's goal in the final minutes

This 2026 World Cup offers no respite, as this Tuesday, June 30, six teams battled to secure passage to the round of 16. There have been three new high-level round of sixteen matches, with the great figures of each national team shining, such as Mbappé or Haaland.

The first match of the afternoon pitted Norway against Ivory Coast, two teams that had left very good impressions in the group stage, so it promised to be a fun and very even match. And without a doubt, the match left no one indifferent, as it was a back-and-forth encounter at times, with great individual performances such as that of Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard, who took the baton of his team, and winger Nusa scoring one of the goals of the World Cup. Haaland also did his job, scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute of the match, now totaling 5 goals in this tournament. On the part of the Africans, Amad Diallo scored a great goal and revolutionized his team's attack, however, it was not enough, as Norway took the qualification 2-1.

At 11:00 PM (Spanish time), there was a European duel between Sweden and France. The French started as favorites before the match began, and from the initial whistle, they assumed that role of favorites, clearly dominating the match and the chances. France's attempts did not cease until before the end of the first half, in the 45th minute, Kylian Mbappé scored the first goal for his team. In the second half, the script was the same, and with goals from Barcola and Mbappé again, the match ended 3-0, sealing the French qualification. With the two goals scored by Mbappé, he reaches 6 goals in this World Cup, and 18 in his entire World Cup career, placing him one goal away from Messi. In addition, French winger Olise made two new assists, becoming the top assistant of the tournament, with 5 goal passes.

Finally, in the early morning, host Mexico received Ecuador, in a match which was delayed more than an hour due to a possible electrical storm. A very even match, defined by details, was expected, however, the Mexicans imposed their rhythm from start to finish, and with great play nullified the Ecuadorians, winning 2-0, and celebrating their passage to the next round, dreaming of being able to go very far in the tournament, as they have not yet conceded a single goal.