A new competition has started for the Blues. Kylian Mbappe’s teammates, who easily finished top of their group in the group stage, attacked the knockout stages with a 3-0 win over Sweden in the round of 16 on Tuesday, June 30, in New York.
• The French attack is in excellent shape. Kylian Mbappe scored twice for the Swedes and also hit the post in the first period. The third goal came from Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise’s acrobatic response narrowly missed the target, also crashing into the Swedish goalkeeper’s left post. The Munich player scored two assists.
• The Swedish attack was blocked. The Blagoults’ world-renowned offensive trident of Alexander Isak (Liverpool), Anthony Elanga (Newcastle) and especially Victor Dieukeres (Arsenal) were snuffed out by the Blues’ solid hinge. Dayot Upamecano and William Saliba ensured that the French team hardly missed a single chance.
• Bradley Barcola scores, Lucas Digne scores less. Taking advantage of his club partner Desiree Douhet, the OL graduate proved his coach right by scoring his second goal of the tournament and could even have scored a brace after a superb decoy late in the match. Lucas Digne, preferred to Theo Hernandez at left-back, on the other hand, was the least visible Frenchman.