France and Mexico both secured comfortable victories on Tuesday to advance to the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada. France defeated Sweden 3-0 at the New York New Jersey Stadium, while Mexico — playing in front of a roaring home crowd at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City — swept aside Ecuador 2-0 to end a 40-year wait for a World Cup knockout-stage victory.

In New York, France were dominant from the outset against a Swedish side that rarely got a foothold in the game. Michael Olise was the creative force throughout, twice hitting the woodwork before turning provider for both of Kylian Mbappe's goals. Mbappe had a goal ruled out by a tight offside call early on, but opened the scoring just before half-time after Olise's corner found its way to him via Ousmane Dembele. Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola added a second eight minutes after the break, latching onto a precise through-ball from Olise, and Mbappe completed the victory on 74 minutes with a curled finish after another exceptional assist from Olise. The brace moved Mbappe level with Lionel Messi on six goals in the tournament's golden boot race, and took his overall World Cup tally to 18 — just one behind Messi's all-time record of 19. France coach Didier Deschamps, who had missed the final group game to attend his mother's funeral, was visibly moved as Mbappe embraced him after the first goal. Deschamps, who captained France to the 1998 World Cup title and coached them to glory in 2018, will step down at the end of this tournament. Sweden — who reached the tournament through the playoffs and boasted Premier League forwards Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak and Anthony Elanga — could not create enough to trouble France and are eliminated. France will next face Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday.

In Mexico City, the round-of-32 match between Mexico and Ecuador kicked off an hour late due to a thunderstorm but the delay barely dampened the atmosphere inside the sold-out Azteca. Mexico burst forward immediately, with 17-year-old Gilberto Mora — only the second-youngest player to start a World Cup knockout match after Brazil's Pelé in 1958 — catching the eye with his directness. Julian Quinones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a powerful strike into the top corner, and then turned provider for Raul Jimenez, who fired a rocket into the net nine minutes later to make it 2-0. Ecuador struggled to recover and, though they saw more of the ball after the interval, they failed to register a single shot on target in the second half. The evening ended in misery for the South Americans when defender Piero Hincapie was sent off in stoppage time for covering his mouth while exchanging words with an opponent — a new rule at this World Cup that carries a red card.

The win carries enormous significance for Mexico. The co-hosts had not won a World Cup knockout match since 1986, when they last staged the tournament, losing their next seven consecutive knockout games between 1994 and 2018 before being eliminated in the group stage at Qatar 2022. Tuesday's result also made Mexico the first CONCACAF nation to beat a CONMEBOL side in a World Cup knockout match, ending South America's five-match winning run in such meetings. The Azteca, which hosted World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986, remains an unbeaten fortress for Mexico across all 10 of their World Cup matches played there. Mexico — who finished the group phase as one of only three sides, alongside France and Argentina, to win all three games without conceding — will face the winner of Wednesday's England versus Democratic Republic of Congo match on Sunday.