France's quest to make a third straight World Cup final continues on Tuesday evening in New Jersey, as they face Sweden in a round of 32 clash.
France scored 10 goals in the group stages, winning all their three games against Senegal, Norway, and Iraq to assert their credentials of winning the whole tournament. Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé have both scored four goals each, while Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola have also found themselves on the scoresheet in the group stage, showing the fearsome firepower that France possess in attack.
Sweden finished third in their group, behind the Netherlands and Japan. They opened their campaign in style with a 5-1 win over Tunisia, but then lost by the same result to the Netherlands. Sweden then drew 1-1 against Japan in their last game to book their spot in the knockout stages, but the test they face now is as difficult as it gets in this competition.
Graham Potter will turn to his high-profile forwards in Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak to deliver against a strong French team, alongside Anthony Elanga who has also proved to be a valuable asset.
Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV1 in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 30
UK BST: 10 p.m. Tuesday, June 30
India IST: 2:30 a.m. Wednesday July 1
Australia AEST: 7 a.m. Wednesday, July 1
Venue: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA
Referee: TBC
Team News
France - Predicted XI
Mike Maignan
Jules Koundé | Dayot Upamecano | William Saliba | Theo Hernández
Aurélien Tchouaméni | Adrien Rabiot
Michael Olise | Ousmane Dembélé | Désiré Doué
Kylian Mbappé
Sweden - Predicted XI
Jacob Widell Zetterström
Gustaf Lagerbielke | Victor Lindelöf | Hjalmar Ekdal
Alexander Bernhardsson | Daniel Svensson | Yasin Ayari | Gabriel Gudmundsson
Anthony Elanga | Viktor Gyökeres | Alexander Isak
Talking Points
France have the best attack
If Mbappé doesn't get you, Dembélé will. If Dembélé doesn't get you, Olise will. If Olise doesn't get you, Doue or Barcola or Cherki will. France have an embarrassment of riches in the attacking areas, and that automatically makes them favourites going into almost every game they play.
This is also an experienced French squad that have gone through the rigmarole of World Cup knockout football before, and gone all the way too. Their ability to flick a switch in attack, almost on demand, is a frightening prospect for Sweden. For example, France were poor in their first half against Senegal as they barely managed a shot, but emerged in the second half and completely dominated the game thanks to their captain Mbappé.
They've since scored seven more goals, and the attack looks to be purring. Mbappé and Dembélé have gotten most of the goals, including the latter's hat trick against Norway, but the likes of Olise and Doue have also played superbly.
For a Swedish side missing a key defender in Isak Hien -- who's ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury -- this is going to be an unprecedented test. They're going to have to defend for their lives, and in all likelihood, will need a lot of luck to go their way to keep France quiet.
Sweden's best chance comes from Gyökeres and Isak
Alexander Isak already has three assists in this tournament, while Viktor Gyökeres has made telling contributions to take Sweden into the knockout stages of this tournament. Those two will have to be central figures if Sweden are to make a fist of this game against France.
They're unlikely to have much of the ball, and will set up to play on the counterattack in this game. Isak's ability to run in behind the French defence will be key, as will his ability to carry the ball. Potter was all praise for Gyökeres's work with his back to goal in the game against Japan, and that will once again come to play. The two are unlikely to have many chances to make an impact, so their ability to make balls stick with them and then use it effectively will be Sweden's best route to goal.
Using the strengths of Gyökeres and Isak would also mean Sweden force France into some kind of caution, in the hope that might take something away from the French attack. In this game which is likely to be a lot of France attacking against Sweden defending, the Swedes will turn to their two world-class attackers in the hope of causing an upset.