France have reached the Round of 16 tonight thanks to a 3-0 victory over Sweden in a game that displayed just how dangerous the Blues are on the front foot.

Graham Potter’s side have struggled at times in this competition, such as in their 5-1 defeat to Netherlands, and at no point did they pose a serious threat to the French defence.

The performance has sent out a statement to the rest of the competition simply asking, who is capable of beating this French superteam?

Story of the Match

The game opened with France applying early pressure on the Swedish backline, although neither goalkeeper was seriously tested in the opening stages.

In the 20th minute, the French thought they had taken the lead when Kylian Mbappé raced through and calmly slotted past Widell Zetterström, but the striker had strayed offside and the goal was ruled out.

France continued to dominate possession, with the Real Madrid forward going close again shortly afterwards, striking the post from close range after meeting Jules Koundé’s inviting cross across the six-yard box.

Michael Olise then came within inches of producing a spectacular bicycle kick in the 35th minute, only to see his effort cannon off the post as The Blues continued to find themselves frustrated.

After 45 minutes of French dominance, Mbappé finally broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime. Following a well worked short corner, he cut inside before curling it past the Swedish goalkeeper into the far corner with his right foot.

PSG winger Bradley Barcola went on to double his country’s lead seven minutes into the second half, finishing off a brilliant team move to make France the highest scoring nation in this year’s World Cup.

The Blue-Yellow continued to struggle in the second half, with Olise running through moments after the hydration break – however a heavy touch saw him closed down by Widell Zetterström and another big chance went astray.

The Blues once again managed to dismantle Graham Potter’s side in the 74th minute, with a beautiful threaded pass by Olise once again stroked home by Mbappé.

With a minute left on the clock, Sweden finally found themselves with an opportunity – however Viktor Gyökeres’ shot was comfortably palmed away by Mike Maignan.

King Kylian Mbappé

At the spearhead of this exquisite performance was, of course, Kylian Mbappé.

The 27-year-old found the back of the net twice, whilst having a third disallowed for a narrow offside as he now sits on six goals in four games at this year’s World Cup.

The Real Madrid man also made history tonight, scoring his 9th and 10th goals in World Cup knockout matches – the most in history.

So far this summer Mbappé has looked untouchable despite his controversial season with Los Blancos, and he is constantly proving why he is one of the greatest players the game has ever seen.

World Cup favourites by far?

Didier Deschamps’ men look unrivalled at the moment, begging the question – who is going to beat them?

You struggle to think of any defences remaining in the competition, or even in the world, that would be able to handle the pedigree within this French attack.

Having scored 13 and conceded two in just four games, it would be daft to not believe that The Blues are clear favourites for this World Cup.

With a game against Paraguay in the next round, followed by a showdown with either Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals if they are to progress, it is hard to imagine a reality in which France don’t have one foot in the final.

Sweden Slump to Elimination

Sweden’s World Cup journey came to an end in the Round of 32 with the Scandinavian nation unable to cope with Didier Deschamps’ side for large spells of tonight’s contest.

Graham Potter’s men struggled to gain a foothold throughout the evening, managing few meaningful opportunities going forward as they spent much of the match pinned back by relentless French pressure.

The defeat brings an end to a disappointing tournament for Sweden, who reached the knockout stages after progressing from Group F behind the Netherlands.

However, against one of the favourites to lift the trophy, the gulf in quality proved too much to overcome as their World Cup campaign came to a disappointing conclusion.