Sweden aim to upset France as World Cup enters critical stage
By Joel Masibo, June 30, 2026Sweden head coach Graham Potter believes his side must produce its finest performance yet if it is to overcome France in Wednesday’s, July 1, 2026, FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-32 clash.
Addressing reporters ahead of the match on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, Potter stressed that facing one of football’s elite nations demands a near-perfect display from his players.
“Against the top teams you have to get the balance right, and we want to play the best game we have ever played. It is a brilliant challenge and opportunity for this team,” Potter said.
Path to knockouts
Sweden secured a place in the knockout rounds as one of the tournament’s best third-placed finishers after an inconsistent group-stage campaign. They opened with an emphatic 5-1 triumph over Tunisia before suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to the Netherlands. A 1-1 draw against Japan in their final group fixture was enough to send them through.
Potter admitted that France’s star-studded squad, spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, will provide one of the toughest tests of the tournament.
“They have quality all over. We respect our opponents, obviously. They have won the World Cup before and they have a fantastic manager,” he said.
“We need to make sure the players have belief and understand the challenge because we are facing a top team,” he added. “But we want to seize the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play in this stadium against one of the biggest teams in the world, at the World Cup, in New York.”
Sweden has not defeated France since June 2017, when the two nations met during qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Despite that record, defender Victor Lindelof insisted the Swedish squad is confident of causing an upset.
Confidence in the camp
“We believe in ourselves. We know we can win this match even if it is going to be extremely difficult. We are not just going out to take part. We want a good result. Our World Cup adventure is at stake and we don’t want it to end,” Lindelof said.
Assistant coach Sebastian Larsson echoed those sentiments, acknowledging the quality France possesses while expressing confidence ahead of the encounter.
“I don’t think I need to say much about France. They have a couple of guys who are quite skilled,” he said. “We will have our challenges, but we are looking forward to it in a fantastic way.”