Kylian Mbappé at the double as France swat aside Sweden in World Cup masterclass

When people form memories of the World Cup , it’s matches like this that do it. France once again won comprehensively, and against decent opposition, but the quality of their attacking play, and the sheer beauty of their goals, were difficult to fully appreciate in the moment. It’s the sort of thing that only comes into true focus upon reflection. Kylian Mbappé drew alongside Lionel Messi in the race for the golden boot here with another brace of unerring finishes. Michael Olise should have had a hat-trick but made do with two assists and a virtuoso performance that left jaws across the floor of the New York-New Jersey stadium. At this point it is very hard to see beyond Didier Deschamps’ men, and there is equally the sense that there is more to come. On a hot afternoon in East Rutherford, the first half served up an interesting contest with Sweden in the mood to compete and in possession of a gameplan. They had good options on the counterattack, either by releasing Anthony Elanga or going long to Viktor Gyökeres, and both would look immediately to where Alexander Isak was. The Liverpool man was released twice by his teammates in the opening 25 minutes and on both occasions got his shot off. Thanks to the close attentions of Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba, however, neither effort bothered Mike Maignan. So the threat was there for the Swedes and their defending was compact and brave. …