France Live up to Favourites Tag as Kylian Mbappe Leads Sweden Thrashing to Send World Cup Warning

France delivered a powerful statement of intent on Tuesday, dismantling Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey to advance in the FIFA World Cup.

The scoreline, while decisive, hardly reflected the full extent of their dominance in a match they could have won by an even wider margin.

Didier Deschamps' squad started slowly but soon found their rhythm, hitting the woodwork twice in the first half. The breakthrough came just before halftime, courtesy of a moment of individual brilliance from Kylian Mbappe.

The French captain continued his stellar form, drawing level with Lionel Messi on six goals in the Golden Boot race.

The second half saw no let-up from the French side. Michael Olise, in magnificent form, elegantly played in Bradley Barcola to double the lead. Olise then produced a perfectly weighted slide-rule pass to set up Mbappe for his second of the night, sealing a comprehensive victory for Les Bleus.

With this win, France has become the first team in history to score at least three goals in five consecutive World Cup matches, cementing their status as the team to beat. However, as this tournament has repeatedly shown, reputations count for little on the day.

The victory was a fitting return to the touchline for manager Didier Deschamps, who had traveled back to France last week following the passing of his mother.

Next, France will travel to Philadelphia for a showdown with Paraguay on Saturday. They will be wary of the South American side, who pulled off a major upset by knocking out Germany on penalties in the previous round.

For Sweden, the journey ends here, but reaching this stage was an achievement in itself. After a dismal qualifying campaign where they failed to win a single match, Graham Potter's team secured a backdoor entry via their Nations League performance. They overcame Ukraine 3-1 and then edged Poland in a five-goal thriller to book their ticket to North America.

Once at the tournament, their path was a rollercoaster: a 5-1 win against Tunisia was followed by a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands. A crucial 1-1 draw with Japan was enough to see them advance as one of the best third-placed teams. Potter will now shift his focus to the upcoming Nations League, while Deschamps continues his quest for a second World Cup title as a manager.