France take perfect record into Sweden World Cup knockout tie

France enter Tuesday’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Sweden with a perfect group-stage record and one of the tournament’s most productive attacks. Al Jazeera reported that the match will be played at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, with kickoff at 5pm local time, 21:00 GMT.

The tie matters because France are among the leading contenders in the expanded 2026 tournament, while Sweden reached the knockouts through the third-place route. According to Al Jazeera, the winner will play Paraguay in the round of 16 after Paraguay eliminated Germany in a shootout.

France arrive in form

Al Jazeera reported that France won Group I with three victories from three games, matching only Mexico and Argentina in finishing the group stage with a 100 percent record. France opened with a 3-1 win over Senegal, beat Iraq 3-0, then defeated Norway 4-1.

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have led the scoring for Didier Deschamps’s side, with Al Jazeera reporting that each has four goals from France’s 10 at the tournament. Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue have also scored, while Michael Olise has three assists.

Deschamps urged caution before the knockout match despite France’s status as favourite. “Sweden not are playing for their survival. Obviously, they will do everything to win the game, but they have nothing to lose,” he told reporters Monday, according to Al Jazeera.

He added that France must keep their focus because the group-stage safety net has gone. “We need to stay humble, maintain our determination and concentration. In the group stage, winning the first game gave us some margin for error, but now we have no second chances,” Deschamps said.

Sweden face a difficult assignment

Al Jazeera reported that Sweden finished third in Group F with four points, behind the Netherlands and Japan. Graham Potter’s team began with a 5-1 win over Tunisia, then lost 5-1 to the Netherlands and drew 1-1 with Japan.

Sweden have scored seven goals at the World Cup, according to Al Jazeera. Anthony Elanga and Yasin Ayari have two each, while Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg have one apiece; Isak has three assists and Gyokeres has two.

Potter said Sweden must produce an almost flawless performance against France. “We have to be as close to perfect as we can be,” he said, according to Al Jazeera. “We know the quality of the opponent and we have full respect for that.”

Veteran defender Victor Lindelof framed the match as another step in Sweden’s return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 tournament. “This is our World Cup adventure that’s at stake and we don’t want that to end,” Lindelof said, according to Al Jazeera.

Odds, history and team news

Opta’s supercomputer gives France a 75.1 percent chance of winning in regulation time, according to Al Jazeera. Sweden are rated at 9.5 percent, with a 15.4 percent chance of extra time or penalties; Opta also gives France a 22.85 percent chance of winning the tournament.

Al Jazeera reported that Tuesday’s match will be the 24th meeting between France and Sweden. France have 12 wins in the series, Sweden have six, and five matches have been drawn. It will be their first World Cup meeting.

France could be without N’Golo Kante because of physical discomfort, while Marcus Thuram is out with a calf injury, according to Al Jazeera. William Saliba is expected to return after sitting out against Norway with back pain. Sweden will be without Isak Hien because of a hamstring injury.

• France predicted lineup, according to Al Jazeera: Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Digne; Kone, Tchouameni; Dembele, Olise, Doue; Mbappe.
• Sweden predicted lineup, according to Al Jazeera: Nordfeldt; Lagerbielke, Lindelof, Gudmundsson; Bernhardsson, Karlstrom, Ayari, Stroud; Elanga, Isak; Gyokeres.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.