France 3-0 Sweden: Two goals from Kylian Mbappé and one from Bradley Barcola (both Arsenal and Liverpool) see off Graham Potter’s side to face Paraguay in the last 32.
Kylian Mbappe scored two great goals (Image: Al Bello/Getty Images)
Handbrake is turned off. What did Didier Deschecamp unleash at this World Cup?
The formidable France showed their strength again on Tuesday, defeating Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey. The truth is, there should have been more.
Deschamps’ side started slowly in the first half, hitting the post twice, but Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock just before half-time with a bit of brilliance. France continued their momentum in the second period, with Michael Olise elegantly slotting in Bradley Barcola for Les Bleus’ second goal.
The third one was great. With the France captain tied with Lionel Messi on seven points in the race for the Golden Boot, Oliseh made a slide rule pass to set up Mbappe and end the match.
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France will face Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday, but they will be cautious not to lose to the South American side, who defeated Germany in a penalty shootout. As for Sweden, they will be just happy that they have made it this far.
Qualifying was a failure with no wins in six games, but their performance in the 2024 Nations League earned them a backdoor route to the playoffs. Graham Potter’s Wounded Animals defeated Ukraine 3-1 in Spain and finished on the right side in a thrilling five-goal game against Poland, who were drawn as the home team in the final.
Upon arriving in North America, they won 5-1 against Tunisia and lost by the same score to the Netherlands, ending their hopes of advancing to the finals. Fortunately, the 1-1 draw with Japan worked well for both teams, and Sweden advanced to one of the top eight teams for third place.
Will France win the World Cup? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
Sweden’s World Cup participation is over (Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Potter’s focus will now shift to another Nations League campaign, while Deschamps will aim for second place in the World Cup as manager. Returning to the touchline after returning to France last week following the sad death of his mother, it was the perfect way to get back to work.
France became the first team in World Cup history to score three goals in five consecutive World Cup matches. Les Bleus will give us a bit of a stoppage, but at the moment they are the team to beat.
But if this legendary tournament has taught us anything, it’s that reputation means nothing.
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