The Albany Gazette - Can anyone stop France at the World Cup?

Les Bleus have lived up to their favourites tag so far on their run to the last 16.

Four games played, four wins, 13 goals scored -– that is their record so far, after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Sweden in the last 32 on Tuesday in New Jersey, and ahead of Saturday's last-16 clash with Paraguay in Philadelphia.

Their path appears to be opening up, to a quarter-final against Canada or Morocco, and perhaps a semi-final versus Spain.

Should their paths eventually cross, the reigning European champions, led by Lamine Yamal, would be a different level of opposition altogether.

Holders Argentina, Brazil and England all stand on the other side of the draw. All have their qualities, but do any have the same depth as this French team?

In Kylian Mbappe, France have arguably the best striker of his generation as well as a captain happy to let all the attention and pressure lie on his shoulders.

Mbappe has a love affair with the World Cup having starred in the France side that won the trophy in 2018 and lost the 2022 final on penalties.

His brace against Sweden leaves him with 18 goals in 18 World Cup appearances. With six so far in the tournament, he could yet threaten the record for most goals at a single World Cup, set by his compatriot Just Fontaine, with 13 in 1958.

But he keeps insisting he is not chiefly motivated by personal glory.

"The objective is to go as far as possible, and come back here on July 19 and try to win," he said Tuesday at the MetLife Stadium, which will host the final.

The frightening thing is that France's opponents cannot only focus on Mbappe, especially when they have Ousmane Dembele, the reigning Ballon d'Or, on the right wing.

And even more scarily, neither of these players has been France's standout at this World Cup.

While France is perhaps the world leader when it comes to nurturing and developing young talent, their technical leader in North America was born in London.

Michael Olise is playing like a future Ballon d'Or winner, and is a creator in the true French tradition -– Mbappe wears the number 10, but Olise is a genuine number 10 in the mould of past French greats Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane.

Throw in Bradley Barcola or Desire Doue on the left wing, and options as substitutes like Rayan Cherki, and their attacking firepower is terrifying.

- Complacency the enemy? -

"Anything's possible, but I personally haven't seen a better team,” admitted Sweden coach Graham Potter.

“Because of the quality they have all over the pitch, and then the options for them off the bench are very, very strong."

If you want to stop their attack, you need the best defence, but France may also have the best centre-back pairing in international football.

William Saliba and Dayot Upamecano are two of the strongest and fastest central defenders in the world.

Their ability to get back and cover allows France to play with a very high defensive line. It becomes less of a risk, especially when you have the hard-working Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot in midfield.

Coach Didier Deschamps has been warning for months that France's biggest enemy is probably over-confidence.

He remembers 2002, when France arrived as World Cup holders and favourites, only to go out in the group stage without scoring a goal.

There is nothing to suggest complacency is an issue now.

"We are on a mission, as am I, with them," he said.

"Some of the other last-32 ties have been very difficult. I'm not going to say ours was easy, but we won with a bit of a margin."

France are aiming to reach a third successive World Cup final in Deschamps' final tournament in charge after a 14-year reign.

They can emulate Brazil, who won the World Cup in 1994, lost the final to France in 1998, and won the trophy again in 2002.

First they must beat Paraguay, but losing to the team ranked 41st in the world, and who came sixth in South American qualifying, seems unthinkable.

(W.Walker--TAG)