After Spain's victory over Uruguay last night, it is now completely clear: Sweden will play in the round of 16 in New Jersey late Tuesday evening, local time in Sweden.
The opposition: Didier Deschamps' France - the heavy favorites for gold.
"They have some guys who are really good at football. It will be something to bite into. But also a fantastic challenge," says Sweden's assistant national team coach Sebastian Larsson.
The men's national team has faced France 23 times over the years, with six wins, twelve losses and five draws. The most recent international matches were in the 2020 Nations League, when France won both meetings.
Stars everywhere
This year's French team has world-class players all over the field and has impressed in the World Cup with three straight victories: 3–1 against Senegal, 3–0 against Iraq and 4–1 against Norway.
"I understand that they are big favorites. They have superstars in all positions. At the same time, worse things have happened. If we're up to par, we have players who can disrupt any team in the world," says Sweden's left-back Ken Sema.
The problem when you face a team like France is that you can't focus on one star, because there are so many. In any other team, players like Ousmane Dembélé, who scored three goals against Norway and was named the world's best player last year, and Michael Olise, a strong candidate for the same award this year, would have been the big stars.
But France has an even bigger one in the squad: Kylian Mbappé.
“An ordinary person”
The Real Madrid striker has scored four goals so far and is usually feared by most goalkeepers. But Sweden's Jacob Widell Zetterström is looking forward to the challenge.
You always want to face the best in the world to be able to be at that level yourself. Otherwise I would probably have stayed in Division 2. That's the beauty of the tournament and one of the reasons why it's so fantastic to be here, says the Swedish goalkeeper.
Ken Sema says he obviously has respect for players of Mbappé's caliber. But it's important not to confuse respect with fear.
"There are always weaknesses. At the end of the day, he is a normal person, he has two arms and two legs like us. Of course he is a good player, but we also have good players. But we are not here by chance. We are here because we have done well. We can hurt any team," says Sema.
Sweden–France starts at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, local time in Sweden.
