France have Kylian Mbappé but are so much more — and that might make them unbeatableplayLeboeuf: Mbappé will hold the World Cup goalscoring record in the future (2:35)Gabriele Marcotti and Julien LaurensMultiple AuthorsJun 30, 2026, 08:13 PM ET
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — You might have wondered whether some level of insecurity had crept into France’s minds after Monday’s first set of World Cup knockout games, in which four-time winners Germany were bounced out by Paraguay and five-time winners Brazil defeated Japan only with a goal deep in second-half stoppage time. (No, Morocco knocking out Netherlands is most definitely not an upset.)
We got our answer on a hot New Jersey afternoon as France delivered a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Sweden. The Swedes were not the toughest opponent, perhaps, but were swatted away in a first half that gave you the impression that Les Bleus could raise their game at will. They scored only once but hit the woodwork twice, narrowly missed out on producing several goal-of-the-tournament contenders, and limited Sweden to one shot on target.
The second half was a case of when, not if, France would score more, and they were more clinical in adding another two. Two goals for Kylian Mbappé, two assists for Michael Olise and France march on. — Gab Marcotti
How can France beat you? Let us count the ways
Imagine a front four who in the same World Cup game have all been involved in either scoring or assisting. Welcome to this France team: Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, Olise and Mbappé were just unstoppable Tuesday against Sweden.
It’s simple, it’s fluid, it’s beautiful, it’s impressive — it’s France. The danger comes from everywhere, confidence is high and these players clearly enjoy playing with one another.
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Sweden were not a test. Even with a back five, sometimes moving to a back six or seven, they were not going to be good enough to stop the fantastic four. But who could, when Olise plays the way he did with so much creativity and flair, and when all four of them bring so much speed and skill?
“He does everything on the pitch,” Barcola reported of Olise postmatch. “He works hard defensively and with the ball, he does great passes, brings danger, and it’s a real pleasure to play with him. He has the capacity of scoring too, and he came close, but it will come. He is a genius.”
This game could have been a five- or six-goal battering. Olise hit the post with what would have been one of the greatest goals in World Cup history if his scissor kick had gone in. Mbappé was also a post away from another World Cup hat trick.
There will be tougher games coming up, but for now, let’s all enjoy the wizardry of this French attack. — Julien Laurens
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France fans in Paris celebrate Mbappé’s goal vs. Sweden
Finding France’s weak spots is an immense challenge
No side is perfect, and neither is France. But identifying those vulnerabilities is a heck of a task.
You probably have to go back to the worst half they produced at this World Cup, the first 45 minutes against Senegal. Even that felt like a function of coach Didier Deschamps fiddling with his front four for reasons only he understands. Once they were restored to where you expect them to be, things went rather more swimmingly.
The stock vulnerabilities lie in the fullbacks and in central midfield. Right back Jules Koundé — despite his assist feats at Barcelona — is limited going forward and won’t be mistaken for Morocco star Achraf Hakimi any time soon. On the left, Lucas Digne, while competent, feels like “just a guy.” But even that’s a little misleading. With France and Barcelona, Kounde gets (and uses) space because the players in front of him are so talented. As long as he can do that, he’s not a burden offensively, and defensively, it’s like having an extra center back. And when Digne plays within himself, he gets the job done and delivers a primo cross.
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You wouldn’t want either to step into midfield and help out with the playmaking, and maybe that’s the issue. Because while Aurélien Tchouaméni is a beast defensively and Adrien Rabiot is big and rangy and can hit shots from distance, neither midfielder offers that much in terms of creativity. Against some sort of furious, high-pressing dervish of a team, that could be a problem.
The thing is, few teams dare test their press resistance, because if you push up on France, you leave acres of space behind. Nobody wants to be in a footrace with Mbappé & Co. If France do get stuck, Olise can drop deep and be a playmaker. Or Deschamps can turn to his more accomplished passers on the bench, such as Manu Koné and Warren Zaïre-Emery.
Maybe the biggest vulnerability to France is France itself. It’s a cliché, sure, but free-flowing front fours can and do come unstuck when they have too much in the way of freedom. Sometimes they can get a little too cute, a little too pretty, a little too in awe of their own talent — like a golfer admiring his drive, not realizing somebody is driving off in his cart.
I’m grasping at straws here. Anyone wanting to beat France is going to have to outplay them, rather than exploiting their weaknesses — and that, too, is a tall order. — Marcotti
Mbappé continues to make history
When will Mbappé stop? He is not done, I reassure you, and the sky is very much still the limit for the France captain.
Another game, another brace against Sweden — he has now scored six goals in four games in this tournament, after scoring two against Senegal and two against Iraq. He added two assists against Norway. He is now on 18 goals in 18 career World Cups matches, an incredible ratio, and just one behind Lionel Messi’s all-time goal scoring record.
Kylan Mbappé now has the most World Cup knockout stage goals of any player, with nine. Al Bello/Getty ImagesWhen he was taken off a few minutes before the end by Deschamps, the France head coach made a gesture with his arms, bowing in front of him. After his first goal, the first of the game, Mbappé ran straight to his boss to embrace him. This goal was for Deschamps and his mother, who passed away last week.Mbappé has played like a man possessed in this World Cup, so determined to win it again and write his name in more of its history. — LaurensFrance are now clear favorites to win it allYou can’t really talk about a statement win when you have beaten a poor Sweden team. But this was France’s best performance so far in this World Cup, after already impressing in the group stage. It has now been four games, four wins, 14 goals scored and only two conceded, and a demonstration of strength, flair and swagger.”It’s football, anything is possible … but I personally haven’t seen a better team,” Sweden coach Graham Potter reported postmatch. “Because of the quality they have on the pitch and the options they have off the bench.”They were hailed as favorites before this impressive win, and they will be even more tipped now to go all the way and win this tournament. There will be tougher games on the way, but whoever faces them (next up is Paraguay on Saturday in Philadelphia) will have to be very strong to stop them. The players and Deschamps know that very well.The biggest weakness for France, outside of their two fullbacks, is maybe that they could get carried away and overconfident. It has always been a problem with Les Bleus, but this generation seems different and so driven by the end goal: a third final in a row and a third World Cup triumph after 1998 and 2018. — Laurensplay1:45What went wrong for Sweden vs. France?Sweden didn’t deserve to make it deep into the knockoutsSweden got here through the back door — finishing last in their qualifying group with two points from six games, but getting a wild card into the UEFA playoffs thanks to their Nations League ranking — and they exit via the back door.Very little is memorable about Sweden’s World Cup, bar the 5-1 win over Tunisia (who had sacked their coach mid-tournament) and even that felt a little like shooting fish in a barrel. The best news is that midfielders Yasin Ayari and Lucas Bergvall are 22 and 20, respectively. Both have room to grow, but both showed they can provide the foundation of this Sweden side for the next decade.
Beyond that, striker Alexander Isak is still out of rhythm (as you might expect given the past 12 months) and still far removed from what his transfer fee suggests he should be. Fellow forward Viktor Gyökeres is one-dimensional, and as often happens with one-dimensional players, he’s far more productive when he has either talent or a coherent system around him. Both were lacking at this World Cup.
Are there things Potter could or should have done differently? Hindsight is 20-20, but when you have such disparity of talent and experience in a starting XI, it’s hard to resist the temptation to simply tighten up at the back and trust your more gifted guys to produce something. (Heck, in a tournament setting, that sometimes even works.)
Potter went down that route. It got them out of the group, but it also meant they had little chance against the French.
“The better team won. We had to be perfect, and even if we were, I’m not sure that would have been enough if I’m brutally honest,” Potter reported after the match. “I have no complaints of the players, it’s not a disgrace to lose to France. For us, it’s about using it as a foundation going forward. — Marcotti
