Tournament favourites France are set to take on Sweden in New Jersey in a World Cup round of 32 clash that could be a pick of the bunch.
There is a reason Didier Deschamps’ men were among the bookies’ favourites to lift the Jules Rimet before a ball was kicked. So far, they have shown exactly why. However, this could be their biggest test yet.
Les Blues made short work of their group games, picking up nine points from nine. Even though Norway rested a large portion of their stars for the final clash, France could only beat what was put in front of them.
They not only won all three of their Group I games, but they did so in style. Scoring three or more goals in each of their games.
Sweden’s journey to get to this point was less straightforward. They started with a 5-1 demolition of Tunisia before falling to the same scoreline against the Netherlands.
Graham Potter’s men earned a vital point against Japan in their final group game. That result secured their place in the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.
The winner of this tie will face Paraguay in Philadelphia in the round of 16 after they knocked out Germany on penalties in a huge upset.
France are the favourites heading into this one. However, as Germany and the Netherlands found out, being favourites doesn’t guarantee the win.
How to watch France vs Sweden
France vs Sweden kicks off at 22:00 on Tuesday, June 30 at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.
The match will be shown live in the UK on ITV, with streaming also available via ITVX.
In the United States, World Cup coverage is available on FOX and Telemundo.
In Canada, coverage is available on CTV, TSN and RDS.
France team news
The French starting XI is pretty much set in stone at this point, even though they have an incredible amount of talent waiting on the bench.
Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise gave Group I defenders nightmares during the opening three games. Sweden will need to be on high alert against the trio.
Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot are expected to anchor the midfield, allowing France’s attacking players to play with greater freedom.
N’Golo Kante and Marcus Thuram are the only reported injuries in the French camp. This means Deschamps’ starting XI should remain unaffected for this one.
Expected XI:
(4-2-3-1) Maignan – Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernández – Tchouaméni, Rabiot – Dembélé, Olise, Doué – Mbappé.
Sweden team news
Like France, Sweden’s starting lineup isn’t expected to vary much from what we saw in the group games; unlike France its fair to say they don’t have the same quality of depth.
Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres will remain Graham Potter’s choice of firepower, with Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga likely to line up alongside them.
Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari has also been a key figure in Sweden’s side and will need to be on his game again in what will be a hard battle against a dominant French midfield.
Victor Lindelöf has been the man trusted at the heart of Potter’s defence so far, but going up against the talent in this France squad will be his toughest test yet.
Expected XI:
(3-4-3) Zetterström – Lagerbielke, Lindelöf, Gudmundsson – Bernhardsson, Ayari, Karlström, Stroud – Elanga, Gyökeres, Isak.
France vs Sweden stats
- France achieved a perfect group stage for the first time since 1998, when they won the tournament.
- Mbappé has 20 World Cup goal involvements since 2018, more than any other player.
- Dembélé and Mbappé each scored four goals in the group stage.
- Anthony Elanga is the first Swedish player to score in consecutive World Cup matches since 1994.
- Sweden haven’t kept a clean sheet in 14 matches.
- Sweden conceded seven goals across their three group games.
France vs Sweden prediction
On paper, you could look at this as ‘France scored a lot of goals in their group and Sweden conceded a lot in theirs.’
But to quote the old cliché – the game is not played on paper.
Just look at the round of 32 games so far; both Germany and the Netherlands have already been sent packing after going in as favourites.
That said, I still think France make short work of Sweden here. That’s not a slight on Sweden. It’s just that France are that good and have far too much quality.
The sheer amount of talent at Deschamps’ disposal is frightening – you could probably make another team of the players who don’t make the starting line-up and still do well at the tournament.
If Sweden had shown they could remain tight at the back and frustrate opponents, I might look at this a bit differently. But the fact is they haven’t done that so far, and against Mbappé and co you’re in for a long day.
An early goal for France, and this one can easily get out of hand quickly; that’s why over 3.5 goals is something I would be looking at for this one – couple that with France to qualify.
Kylian Mbappé remains France’s biggest goal threat, even if it was Dembélé who netted a hat trick last time out – Mbappé to score 2+ goals is my pick for this one.
If you’re looking for a scoreline, with an early France breakthrough, I can easily see this one being 4-1 or 5-1 to the French.
