The World Cup knockout stages continue Tuesday with a pair of compelling Round of 32 matchups, where a star-studded France will face a gritty Sweden side and Norway will unleash a well-rested Erling Haaland against a highly versatile Ivory Coast.
France swept through Group I with a perfect record, scoring 10 goals in victories over Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. Their frontline of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise has formed arguably the most devastating attacking unit in the tournament.
However, head coach Didier Deschamps still has defensive and transitional issues to solve on the left side of his team before squaring off against Sweden.
Theo Hernandez has failed to fully convince at left back. As a result, Lucas Digne is expected to enter the starting lineup to provide greater defensive security and steadier delivery from wide areas.
Further up the pitch on the left wing, Bradley Barcola is projected to replace Desire Doue. Deschamps is looking for more direct running, transitional pace, and natural width to counterbalance the heavy right-side bias of the Olise-Mbappe-Dembele axis.
These adjustments aim to give France a more coherent shape against a Sweden team likely to defend deep, threaten on set pieces and exploit spaces behind a French defense that has occasionally been caught off guard.
Fortunately for Les Bleus, the return of William Saliba to central defense will inject much-needed stability. If the starters falter, France boast unmatched bench power with options like Doue, Rayan Cherki, Jean-Philippe Mateta, and Marcus Thuram.
Sweden, on the other hand, arrive as awkward, highly organized opponents rather than spectacular ones. They finished second in Group F behind the Netherlands, sandwiching a 5-1 loss to the Dutch between a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia and a 1-1 draw with Japan.
Armed with physical presence and top-tier talent like Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga, Sweden can make life uncomfortable if France lose their patience.
Despite occasional defensive lapses, France have not lost a World Cup knockout game since 2014, excluding the legendary 2022 final against Argentina. Former England great Gary Lineker remains highly skeptical of a Swedish upset.
"I don't buy it. Sweden have Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga. They are not a bad side, but they are nowhere near France's firepower," Lineker told French sports daily L'Equipe.
"Of course, with four genuine forwards, Les Bleus could be vulnerable on the counter, as we saw against Norway's second string on Friday, but they will score more goals than the other teams," he said.
The winner of this clash will advance to the Round of 16 to face either Germany or Paraguay.
In Tuesday's other high-profile fixture, Norway face Ivory Coast in Dallas, where Erling Haaland will command the spotlight. The predatory Norwegian striker already has four goals in just two appearances this tournament.
Haaland is set to return to the starting lineup after being rested during Norway's final group game against France, alongside the majority of the team's first-choice squad.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken defended his tactical decision to rest 10 core players as a "no-brainer" due to severe squad fatigue.
"This is simple. We did a summary after (their second game against) Senegal, and the entire defence and some midfielders were very affected," Solbakken said.
He will likely be relieved that Dallas's midday kickoff will not be marred by oppressive heat, thanks to the stadium's climate-cooling technology.
Ivory Coast will focus heavily on containing Haaland, a task that falls on a defense featuring highly rated 22-year-old Ousmane Diomande, who is widely expected to leave Sporting Lisbon for the English Premier League this summer.
However, Ivorian coach Emerse Fae also intends to play on the front foot to keep Haaland starved of possession.
The Ivorians possess an exciting, deep attacking arsenal of their own. The squad features nine attacking options, including teenage sensation Yan Diomande, resurgent former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe, who scored twice against Curacao, and Inter Milan's Ange-Yoan Bonny, who switched his international allegiance from France just before the tournament.
"I think that spreading the goals around is a real strength of ours, which we can use to catch our opponents off guard and be a threat from all over the pitch, including players coming off the bench to make a telling contribution," Fae said.
