PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé of France scored his 19th career World Cup goal, finding the net on a penalty kick in the Round of 16 against Paraguay on Saturday and moving within one of record holder Lionel Messi of Argentina.
Mbappé stutter-stepped on his way to his 19th goal in 19 World Cup appearances, beating Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill in the 70th minute to break a scoreless tie. France's captain was awarded the penalty when Diego Gomez was called for tripping after a video review.
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France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates his team's victory at the end of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after scoring a goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates his team victory at the end of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe scores the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) scores from a penalty kick the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after scoring from a penalty kick the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
“I've said from the first day that he had the spirit. He gave all the athletic efforts,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after Les Bleus won 1-0. “He’s a great top-notch player on the pitch. But when he speaks, he speaks for the entire group.”
It was the seventh goal of this tournament for Mbappé, matching Messi in the race for the Golden Boot for the World Cup's top scorer. Mbappé won that award four years ago in Qatar, but Messi and Argentina beat France in the final.
Mbappé is now the only player to score at least three goals in the knockout stage of three World Cups. On Saturday, he endured against perhaps the most physical opponent he's faced in this tournament.
Tempers flared in the first half when Andrés Cubas took down Mbappé and the teams briefly pushed and shoved each other. Matías Galarza also threw his right elbow into Mbappé and sent him crashing to the grass.
After Mbappé ignored Gill's attempt at a postgame handshake, the goalkeeper threw a ball at the France star's back.
“We knew what kind of match it was going to be. We can also get our hands dirty, we know how to do it,” Mbappé said in French. “We know how to play ugly football. Guess they were thinking we were going to show up in tuxedos, but we were ready. Even at that kind of game, we were better than them. That’s their style of football. There’s no right or wrong way to play the game. They tried to beat us that way, but we won.”
And the victory cleared the way for Mbappé to continue chasing Messi's career goals mark.
Messi scored his 20th career World Cup goal in Argentina's 3-2 win over Cape Verde on Friday night. The 39-year-old great also has goals in a record eight consecutive World Cup games.
Norway's Erling Haaland and England's Harry Kane are next in the Golden Boot race with five goals each.
If there’s a tie in the Golden Boot standings when the tournament ends, FIFA will use assists as the first tiebreaker and fewest minutes played as the second tiebreaker. Mbappé has a 2-0 lead over Messi in assists.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates his team's victory at the end of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after scoring a goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates his team victory at the end of the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe scores the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
France's Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) scores from a penalty kick the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after scoring from a penalty kick the opening goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 250th anniversary of American independence is colliding with a country gripped by political polarization and a heat wave bearing down on millions of people across multiple states as celebrations get underway across the United States on Saturday.
The signing of the Declaration of Independence, one of history's most celebrated articulations of democratic ambitions, is being marked in myriad ways. President Donald Trump, set to take a central role in festivities, plans to speak on the National Mall in Washington ahead of what's being billed as a historically enormous fireworks show that will rain down over the nation's capital. The president was in South Dakota at Mount Rushmore on Friday, where he delivered a dark speech about the threat of communism in the U.S. as the chiseled images of four of his most prominent predecessors loomed behind him.
Elsewhere, fireworks are scheduled to be set off Saturday over Navy Pier in Chicago and against the skyline of New York City, which also hosted a ball drop at midnight to usher in the holiday with the same fanfare as New Year's Eve. Bristol, Rhode Island, describes itself as home of the nation's oldest Independence Day celebrations dating to 1785. In Los Angeles, Queen Latifah will host a concert featuring performances by The Smashing Pumpkins and Chris Stapleton. Chaka Khan is billed as a special guest.
Anticipation for the milestone holiday has been building for much of the year, serving as an opportunity for Americans to reflect on their complicated history as onetime colonists of an empire who became a superpower of their own. Celebrations months in the making had to adjust or cancel activities entirely as much of the East Coast sweltered under heat that approached and in many cases surpassed triple digits.
In Washington, the Great American State Fair was closed for several hours Friday afternoon during the worst of the heat. The city's Independence Day parade scheduled for Saturday was canceled.
To the chagrin of many on the East Coast, the weather was downright pleasant on the other side of the country. The Pacific Northwest enjoyed temperatures in the 60s on Friday with a few light showers.
In the Seattle suburb of Issaquah, Megan Kurowski, 31, brought her two dogs to the dog park so they could get some exercise before she went to work. Kurowski said she was feeling positive about America’s 250th anniversary and was planning a possible paddleboard to watch the fireworks.
“Everyone’s just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years,” she said.
Other American pastimes are overlapping with the holiday.
More than a dozen Major League Baseball games are on the schedule for Saturday. The World Cup, being hosted in the U.S. for the first time in 32 years, will have matches in Houston and Philadelphia on Saturday following a nail-biter overtime win by Argentina over Cape Verde on Friday outside Miami. Pop culture enthusiasts can obsess over Taylor Swift's Friday wedding to football player Travis Kelce at New York City's Madison Square Garden. And Madonna released her 15th studio album, a collection of dance tracks.
The celebrations are unfolding against the backdrop of a deep divide that has been expanding for years, visible in everything from political expression to cultural norms to age-old questions over race, class and immigration.
At Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump spoke of communism as a "mortal threat to American liberty.”
“It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” he said.
Without naming Trump, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who is also a democratic socialist and recently backed several successful congressional candidates in their primaries, appeared to reference Trump during a speech Friday.
“Those ideals upon which our nation was built — they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them,” he said.
Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano in Topeka, Kansas, sized up “what makes us awesome” as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.
“We’ve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether that’s in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool,” he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.
Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he wasn’t aware that the U.S. was celebrating its 250th anniversary and planned to stay low-key around the holiday. He and his wife generally skip the fireworks and instead stay home with their fearful dogs to keep them calm.
“America’s a great place," he said, “but there are some concerns.”
Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle and John Hanna in Topkea, Kansas contributed to this report.
Law enforcement secure the area as people evacuate because of incoming storms that will delay the program at a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People dance in the street as they wait for the National Mall to reopen after being evacuated due to weather during Independence Day events honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The White House is seen in the distance as people evacuate the area after people were told of incoming storms that will delay the program at a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People arrive for a Salute to America Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Brian White, dressed in a bald eagle costume and patriotic U.S. flag-based clothing, stands along the route of an Independence Day parade in Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A National Park Service employee distributes free water at the national mall during Independence Day events honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Statue of Liberty is framed by Argentina's Ara Libertad in the New York harbor during the International Parade of Sail, part of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New U.S. citizen and twice-deployed U.S. Marine Sgt. Diakaria Sangare, from Guinea, poses for a portrait following the naturalization ceremony on Independence Day at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Military planes perform a flyover of the Hudson River, above the the Manhattan skyline, as seen from Weehawken, N.J., Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The Statue of Liberty is seen as sailors of a tall ship sail past in the New York harbor during the International Parade of Sail, part of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
People stand and take the Oath of Allegiance on Independence Day during a naturalization ceremony at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Children line up to watch an Independence Day parade, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Deforest, Wis. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
Members of the National Guard patrol the National Mall before Independence Day events honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Members of the National Guard patrol near the Washington Monument before Independence Day events honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Vice President JD Vance arrives on the flight deck of the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in the New York harbor during The International Naval Review during Sail250 honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The USS Farragut sails past the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor during The International Naval Review, ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Members of the National Guard direct a person riding a bicycle with various flags attached to a cart before an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Runners draped in American flags participate in a run on Independence Day in Huntington Beach, Calif., Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The French Air Force acrobatic squad Patrouille de France perform a flyover during the International Aerial Review, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Sydney Schaefer)
The Statue of Liberty is seen as Argentina's Ara Libertad sails past in the New York harbor during the International Parade of Sail, part of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sits with other pleasure craft below the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Military personnel stand on the wet flight deck of the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) anchored in the New York harbor ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel sits with other pleasure craft below the Statue of Liberty in the New York harbor ahead of Sail250, a gathering of tall ships and military ships honoring America's 250th Anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Rain runs down a sculpture of George Washington at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)
President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Friday, July 3, 2026, near Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Matt Gade)
Duane Schwingel plays a harmonica on the National Mall, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Todd Shaw, left, kisses his wife Shannon Shaw, right, as they pose for portrait during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Thursday, July 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A flight of F-18s, F-35s and a F-22 fly past a picture of President Donald Trump hanging on the U.S. Department of Labor near the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
