France is currently the best show in international football. Not a debate; not a hot take; a 3-0 verdict at MetLife Stadium delivered with the kind of casual, suffocating excellence that makes you wonder how any team is supposed to stop them.
Sweden had Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak, two of the most feared strikers in European club football, and they managed only four shots all game; France had 25. That’s not a contest; that’s an exhibition.
Here are my four takeaways from France’s 3-0 win over Sweden:
(Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
Stop what you are doing. Watch this man.
Kylian Mbappé has now scored 18 goals in 18 World Cup appearances. Lionel Messi holds the all-time record at 19. Only one goal separates the greatest of all time from the next in line, and Mbappé is only 27. Let that settle for a second.
He opened the scoring just before halftime, latching onto an Ousmane Dembélé cutback from a corner and slotting past Jacob Zetterström with the kind of composure that makes goalkeepers feel irrelevant. His second goal, the third for France, was even better: a curling finish into the far corner that sent the entire French bench sprinting toward Didier Deschamps. There was something undeniably emotional about that one.
He had a goal disallowed for offside. He hit the post. He could have had four. Sweden had no answer, no plan, and ultimately no chance. Mbappé is not just France’s best player; he is the best player in this tournament alongside Messi.
(Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images)
Graham Potter’s side deserves credit for showing up at all.
Sweden came into this World Cup having missed the 2022 tournament entirely, back after a painful absence and carrying enormous expectations on the shoulders of Gyökeres and Isak, two strikers with wildly expensive price tags and tons of expectation. In their opening group game, they delivered: a 5-1 demolition of Tunisia that was genuinely thrilling. Sweden looked like a side that could cause problems.
Then came the Netherlands. A 5-1 loss that quickly recalibrated expectations. Sweden steadied somewhat, drawing 1-1 with Japan to scrape through as a third-place team. They arrived here knowing the draw had not been kind, facing the tournament’s overwhelming favorites. Sometimes the bracket plays cruel tricks.
Against France, Gyökeres and Isak barely touched the ball in meaningful areas. Anthony Elanga worked hard and went largely unrewarded. This Swedish generation — gifted, genuinely exciting to watch — simply ran into the wrong team at the wrong time. No shame in that. They belong at this level. They’ll be back.
(Photo by Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
