France’s glittering attack carried them smoothly through the World Cup group stage, but coach Didier Deschamps still has issues to solve on the left side of his team before Tuesday’s Round of 32 meeting with Sweden.
France finished top of Group I with a perfect record, scoring 10 goals in wins over Senegal, Iraq and Norway, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise giving them arguably the most devastating attacking unit in the tournament.
Yet the left flank has looked less settled. Theo Hernandez has not fully convinced at left back, and Lucas Digne is expected to come into the side against Sweden, bringing more defensive security and a steadier delivery from wide areas.
Further forward, Bradley Barcola is expected to replace Desire Doue on the left of France’s attack, with Deschamps looking for more direct running, pace in transition and natural width on the flank opposite the Olise-Mbappe-Dembele axis.
The adjustment would not change France’s overall balance but could give them a more coherent left side against a Sweden team likely to defend deep, attack at set pieces and look to expose any space behind France’s defence, which has sometimes been caught off guard.
The return of William Saliba in central defence will, at least, bring some stability back.
However, any rival will face the same conundrum: however many goals they score, Les Bleus always look capable of scoring one more.
Mbappe has been France’s central figure again, while Dembele’s hat-trick against Norway and Olise’s creativity have underlined the depth of attacking options available to Deschamps.
Barcola, Doue, Rayan Cherki, Jean-Philippe Mateta or Marcus Thuram give France the kind of bench power no team can match.
Sweden arrive as awkward opponents rather than spectacular ones. They finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands, opening with a 5-1 win over Tunisia before being torn apart by the Dutch 5-1 and drawing with Japan 1-1.
However, they have enough physical presence and organisation to make the evening uncomfortable if France lose patience.
The knockout stage is a different test from the group phase, when France were able to overwhelm opponents despite occasional defensive lapses. But the 2022 final against Argentina aside, France have not lost a knockout game at the World Cup since 2014.
Can Sweden cause an upset?
“I don’t buy it. Sweden have Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga. They are not a bad side, but they are nowhere near France’s firepower,” former England great Gary Lineker told French sports daily L’Equipe.
“Of course, with four genuine forwards, Les Bleus could be vulnerable on the counter, as we saw against Norway’s second string on Friday, but they will score more goals than the other teams.”
Victory would send France into the Round of 16 against Germany or Paraguay.
