"It's a very skilled team, and all the players are playing at the highest level. They're doing well. We should have had a 0-0 draw here," says Nilsson Lindelöf.
But it took a long time before everything was over in New Jersey.
Victor Nilsson Lindelöf, back at centre-back after his midfield excursion against Japan, found Viktor Gyökeres deep. Gyökeres used his physicality, won the duel with Dayot Upamecano and played the ball back to Alexander Isak.
The Liverpool striker sought his favourite position, but did not get the desired ball. Mike Maignan had no problem, but the warning for Sweden was clear.
Gyökeres continued to win runs and duels and threatened the French backline.
National team captain Didier Deschamps scratched the back of his neck. What was this? He would have more to worry about before he could calmly sink back into his seat in his booth and enjoy the players at his disposal.
Mbappé broke the deadlock
Gabriel Gudmundsson broke forward, passed to Gyökeres who was brought down by William Saliba, his clubmate at Arsenal. The free kick landed on Gustaf Lagerbielke's foot, but the header failed completely.
Kylian Mbappé constantly showed his speed. The Real Madrid superstar broke through and scored what he thought was France's opening goal, but the flag came up. Right call, but the offside was a hair's breadth.
Sweden impressed until the break. Immediately afterwards, Yasin Ayari hit a smart free kick to Isak, but the shot was blocked.
Whereupon Mbappé hit the post. Sweden had luck on its side twice there. The rebound hit Nilsson Lindelöf but the ball went on the right side of the post. Minutes later, it was Michael Olise's turn to hit the post with a bicycle kick. The rebound shot Ousmane Dembélé wide.
The match heated up. Nilsson Lindelöf was dangerously close to a warning for the tackle on Olise. The French were clearly frustrated. Mbappé bounced up and down in disappointment as Jacob Widell Zetterström saved another shot.
Les Bleus increased the pressure. Finally, the payoff came in the 45th minute. From Mbappé, of course. A few body feints were followed by a quick shot into the far corner of "JWZ".
Potter: “Tough”
Mbappé and the rest of the French team ran straight into the open arms of Deschamps, the national team coach who had returned to the United States after the funeral of his mother.
"It was tough out there for us, but I think we had our moments. It's disappointing that we conceded a goal, but the team's reaction was fantastic. We need to be ourselves a bit more in terms of our attacking play, having the ball and pushing them back a bit. When we did that we looked good," national team coach Graham Potter told TV4 at half-time.
The defensive wall cracked in the second half. Olise nutmegged Lagerbielke, who had badly missed a clearance. In a free position, Bradley Barcola made it 2-0.
The French world stars relaxed, played out, excelled.
Taha Ali came in, joking with Jules Koundé. Candy for a football eye, but not on par with what Olise soon offered.
The pass cut straight through to Mbappé - who rolled in 3-0 and moved into a shared lead with Lionel Messi in the World Cup's scoring chart with six goals.
The World Cup is over. The national team will have to adjust when the time comes in the fall. Then the Nations League awaits.
