Perhaps many people wonder if the defeat of the German team against Paraguay and Brazil having to struggle to overcome Japan in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup will put more pressure on the French team.
The answer came at the New Jersey stadium, when Les Bleus easily defeated Sweden 3-0. Although Sweden was not too strong an opponent, this was still an impressive victory that Didier Deschamps' team created. France dominated right in the first half, only scoring one goal but hitting the wooden frame twice, and creating more dangerous opportunities and only giving the opponent one shot on target.
The second half is just the story of how many more goals France will score. Les Bleus took good advantage of the opportunities to score 2 more goals, in which Kylian Mbappe scored a double and Michael Olise contributed two assists, taking France straight to the next round.
France can defeat opponents in many different ways
It is difficult to imagine an attack where all 4 players directly score goals in the same World Cup match. However, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe did that against Sweden.
France's playing style is both simple and flexible, but also full of speed and efficiency. Dangers come from all directions, confidence is evident in each combination and the players seem to understand each other very well.
Sweden is not an easy opponent to play against. Although at many times they arranged up to 6 or 7 players in the defense, they still could not stop the attacking power of the French attacking quartet. When Olise played creatively and technically, while Mbappe, Dembele and Barcola all possessed speed and the ability to create breakthroughs, the opponent's defense was almost without a solution.
After the match, Barcola praised Olise: "He does everything on the field. He supports defense, handles the ball and passes the ball very well, creating many opportunities. It's great to play with such a player. He will also score soon. Olise is really a genius".
If they had finished better, France could have completely won by a margin of 5 or 6 goals. Olise launched a "lighthouse kick" that hit the post, while Mbappe also only lacked a bit of luck to complete the hat-trick.
Surely there will be many bigger challenges ahead, but at this time, France's attack is truly a fear for every opponent.
Where is France's weakness?
No team is perfect and so is France. However, finding the weaknesses of Les Bleus is not easy at all.
Perhaps their worst performance since the beginning of the tournament was the first 45 minutes against Senegal, when Deschamps tested some adjustments in the attack. When returning to the familiar attacking quartet, everything quickly worked smoothly.
The two positions that still make many people wonder are full-back and central midfielder. Jules Kounde is not too outstanding in attacking support, while Lucas Digne, although playing stably, has not created much breakthrough.
However, Kounde still completed his task well thanks to the space created by his teammates above, while also bringing certainty like a third center-back when defending. Meanwhile, Digne still ensured his defensive ability and quality crosses.
In midfield, Aurelien Tchouameni is a reliable defensive shield, while Adrien Rabiot possesses good physique and long-range shooting ability. However, neither are creative midfielders, which could become a problem if France faces a high-pressing opponent.
However, very few teams dare to choose that playing style. When raising the squad against France, they will reveal too many gaps behind, where Mbappe and his teammates are always ready to exploit. If more creativity is needed, Deschamps still has quality options on the bench such as Manu Kone or Warren Zaire-Emery.
Perhaps France's biggest weakness is... themselves. A free attack can sometimes become too confident, elaborate in handling or engrossed in showing off technique. But if that doesn't happen, any opponent who wants to defeat Les Bleus is forced to play better than them, and that is an extremely difficult task.
