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France and Sweden face off this Tuesday in the round of 16 of the , at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in a matchup featuring a powerhouse in peak form against a team that is at the limit of its capabilities.
The Blues, led by Didier Deschamps, completed an impeccable group stage: nine points, three victories, 10 goals scored, and only two conceded to lead Group I with authority.
The path of France included victories over Senegal (3-1), Iraq (3-0), and a final thrashing of 4-1 against Norway, a match in which Ousmane Dembélé scored a hat-trick in just 25 minutes, accumulating four goals and one assist in the tournament.
Kylian Mbappé, the all-time top scorer for the French national team with 58 goals, completes the offensive duo that makes France one of the strongest contenders for the title.
The stated goal of Les Bleus is to compete in their third consecutive World Cup final, having won in Russia 2018 and lost in Qatar 2022.
In front of them was Sweden, which advanced just enough as one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament, accumulating four points in Group F after an irregular campaign.
The Graham Potter team started with a resounding 5-1 victory over Tunisia, but suffered the same goal difference against the Netherlands and ended the phase with a 1-1 draw against Japan.
Potter himself acknowledged that the defeat against the Dutch was a "somewhat harsh result," although he admitted that his team did not deserve to win.
The Swedes arrive with notable absences: Dejan Kulusevski is not in the tournament due to injury, and defender Isak Hien will also be unavailable for this match, while the French player Marcus Thuram will miss the game as well.
The offensive trident of Sweden, comprised of Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal), Alexander Isak (Liverpool), and Anthony Elanga (Newcastle), will be the main threat to the French defense.
Captain Victor Lindelöf (Aston Villa) will lead the Scandinavians in what will be the first historic meeting between the two teams in a World Cup.
In the overall history, France leads with 12 victories in 24 encounters against six Swedish wins and five draws, and arrives with six consecutive victories against European rivals in World Cups.
The referee appointed for the match is the Dutchman Danny Makkelie.
The context of the tournament favors France: Paraguay eliminated Germany in penalties and Morocco did the same with the Netherlands, which means that the winner of this match will face the Paraguayans in the round of 16, a seemingly more accessible path than expected for the French.
MetLife Stadium, the venue for this match, is also the chosen site for the grand final on July 19, adding special symbolism to every game played within its walls.
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