France meet Group F’s third-place finishers Sweden at New York’s MetLife Stadium as Les Bleus look to keep up their 100% winning record so far against a Sweden side breaking records of their own.
France have made a statement of intent by scoring ten times across three group stage victories, the joint-most of any side, four of which came against a second-string Norway in the final group game. Those results secured Les Bleus’ first perfect passage through a World Cup group since winning the tournament on home soil in 1998, a solid omen they can point towards to solidify their status as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in mid-July.
Scoring at least three goals in their last four World Cup games underlines the attacking prowess within the French ranks, and as they stand on the brink of becoming the first side to do so in five successive games, securing that feat is almost certain to lead to another broken record of seven consecutive World Cup wins against UEFA nations.
Despite only qualifying as one of the best third-placed sides, Graham Potter’s Sweden broke their own national record with seven goals scored at a World Cup group stage. They’ve still got some way to go to equal the 15 they managed across the whole tournament when the USA last hosted the World Cup back in 1994 and they finished third, and an unkind route to the final certainly means they’re right up against it on both fronts.
The size of the task here cannot be understated, but the Swedes will be quick to point out that they were only eliminated from two of their last seven games in the first World Cup knockout round, even if both defeats came across the last three such occasions.
France lead the way after 23 prior encounters against Sweden, but the only two head to heads at major tournaments ended in a 1-1 draw in 1992 and a 2-0 Sweden win in 2012, both in the UEFA European Championship.
