Mbappe celebrates goal with France boss as coach returns from family funeral

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — When Kylian Mbappé scored just before halftime in France's round of 32 win over Sweden at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, the captain didn't do one of his signature post-game celebrations.

>Instead, he headed straight to France's bench.

>Mbappé (and the rest of the team) went immediately over to the sidelines to embrace France boss Didier Deschamps, who returned on Tuesday after missing the team’s final Group I match against Norway, going back to France with his family following the death of his mother.

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Mbappé and the entire French team went straight to Didier Deschamps after scoring 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/G9InrfPQrR

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 30, 2026Deschamps left the team following its clean-sheet win over Iraq on Monday, June 22. Longtime France assistant Guy Stephan coached in Deschamps' spot in Les Bleus' win over Norway, which clinched Group I for the reigning World Cup runners-up.

>"I think that was important," France defender Malo Gusto said in the mixed zone following the game on the moment the team had with Deschamps. "I think Kylian did that to support (our) coach, too. It was a tough time for him. It was up to us to return the favor. I think we did really well tonight."

>Mbappé echoed similar sentiments in his post-match television interview on Fox, while mentioning it wasn't an planned celebration going into Tuesday's knockout game.

>"It is the DNA of this group," Mbappé said. "We know that coach went through an ordeal that, unfortunately, everyone will go through, and it was very difficult. There are more important things than football. But he needs to know, and he already knows, through that gesture from the whole team that he will never be alone. ... We will support him."

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Mbappé and France stand by Didier Deschamps through the highs and lows 🫂 pic.twitter.com/nwtr8tvcky

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 1, 2026Mbappé scored two of France's three goals on the day, giving him his third brace of the tournament. His goal in the first half gave him his ninth goal in a World Cup knockout round, which set a tournament record for an individual player. Meanwhile, his second-half goal moved him within one of Lionel Messi for the tournament's all-time scoring record. Mbappé heads into the round of 16 with 18 World Cup goals.

>It's the fourth consecutive World Cup that France has advanced to the round of 16, all of which have come under Deschamps, who took over the France national team in 2012. Under Deschamps, France has advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the World Cup and has one World Cup title, which came in 2018. That's the second World Cup he's brought home to France, as he won one as a player in 1998.

>France will now take on Paraguay in the round of 16 on Saturday, July 4 at 5 p.m. ET in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field.

>This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mbappe celebrates goal with France boss as coach returns from family funeral