World Cup: Ligue 1 stars shine as France sweep Sweden aside to reach last 16
France continued their impressive FIFA World Cup campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Sweden on Tuesday, as several Ligue 1 McDonald's stars played leading roles in securing a place in the last 16.
After weathering an energetic Swedish start, Didier Deschamps's side gradually took control, with Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise all causing constant problems for Graham Potter's defence.
The breakthrough finally arrived just before half-time. A short corner routine saw Dembélé find captain Kylian Mbappé, who shifted the ball onto his right foot before curling an excellent finish beyond Jacob Widell Zetterström for his fifth goal of the tournament.
France doubled their advantage eight minutes after the restart through another Ligue 1 combination. Olise slipped an intelligent pass into the path of Barcola, who powered his finish into the roof of the net to leave the Swedish goalkeeper with no chance.
Olise's creativity continued to torment Sweden throughout the second half, and the winger claimed a second assist when he released Mbappé behind the defence in the 74th minute. The Real Madrid forward calmly slotted home his sixth goal of the competition to move level at the top of the Golden Boot standings.
The scoreline could easily have been even more emphatic. Mbappé struck the post before the break, Olise also rattled the woodwork with an audacious overhead kick, while France had another Mbappé effort ruled out for offside.
Defensively, Les Bleus remained equally impressive, with Mike Maignan producing an excellent late save to deny Viktor Gyökeres and preserve another clean sheet.
Following the final whistle, Deschamps praised his players but insisted their work is far from complete.
'We're on a mission,' the France coach said. 'There is another step to take. We have talent, but in four days we have to do it all again.'
France will now face Paraguay in the Round of 16 after another convincing performance from a side increasingly looking every inch a contender for World Cup glory.
READ MORE:
