France and Sweden have confirmed their starting teams for their meeting in the last 32 of the World Cup 2026 in New Jersey on Tuesday.
Les Blues beat Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0 and Norway 4-1 in the group stage, helped by four goals each from top-scorer contenders Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.
Blagult thrashed Tunisia 5-1 but lost to the Netherlands by the same scoreline before drawing 1-1 with Japan.
The winners of the tie will face Paraguay in the last 16 in Philadelphia on Saturday (22:00 BST).
“𝑶𝒏 𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆̂𝒕𝐬 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 !” 💪💙
La phase à élimination directe démarre ce soir 🇫🇷🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/0I2PDDFnaK— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 30, 2026
World Cup 2026: France confirmed team vs Sweden
William Saliba was rested against Norway with a minor back problem.
France starting XI: Maignan, Digne, Upamecano, Kounde, Saliba, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Mbappe, Olise, Barcola
France substitutes: Samba, Risser, Gusto, Konate, Hernandez, Hernandez, Lacroix, Kone, Kante, Zaire-Emery, Cherki, Akliouche, Thuram, Doue, Mateta
World Cup 2026: Sweden full line up vs France
Isak Hien was substituted against Japan after appearing to overstretch for a ball.
Sweden starting XI: Zetterstrom, Lagerbielke, Lindelof, Gudmundsson, Svensson, Stroud, Bergvall, Ayari, Isak, Elanga, Gyokeres
Sweden substitutes: Johansson, Nordfeldt, Johansson, Ekdal, Starfelt, Smith, Bernhardsson, Nygren, Sema, Karlstrom, Svanberg, Zeneli, Nilsson, Ali
Where to watch France vs Sweden: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 22:00 BST (17:00 ET / 14:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on ITV1.
Streaming is available via ITV’s website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
World Cup 2026: France vs Sweden stats
- This is the first meeting between the teams at a World Cup, although they have twice met at the EURO finals: Sweden won 2-0 in 2012, having shared a 1-1 draw 20 years earlier
- France last won all of their group matches at a major tournament at the 1998 World Cup, when they lifted the trophy on home soil with current head coach Didier Deschamps as captain
- They could become the first side in World Cup history to score at least three goals in five consecutive matches
- Mbappe and Dembele’s total of five goal combinations is the joint-most by a duo at the World Cup since records began in 1966, matching Poland’s Andrzej Szarmach and Grzegorz Lato and Germany’s Miroslav Klose and Michael Ballack
- Since the start of that 1998 campaign, France have won 15 of their 18 knockout matches at the tournament
- The 2006 final (1-1 vs Italy, lost 5-3 on penalties), a 2014 quarter-final (1-0 vs Germany) and the 2022 final (3-3 vs Argentina, lost 4-2 on penalties) are their only eliminations along the way
- Viktor Gyokeres produced the most attempts (11) and chances (8) of any Sweden player during the group stage
- Ralf Edstrom in 1974 (18 shots, 15 chances) and Tomas Brolin in 1994 (20 shots, 17 chances) are the only players on record (from 1966) to have at least 10 attempts and create at least 10 chances at a single edition of the finals for Sweden
- Anthony Elanga could become the fifth Sweden player to score in three successive appearances at the finals, after Arne Nyberg (1938), Kurt Roland Hamrin (1958), Martin Dahlin (1994) and Kennet Andersson (1994)
- This is Sweden’s eighth appearance in the World Cup knockout stage, only falling at the first hurdle of this phase twice (2-1 to Senegal in 2002, 2-0 to Germany in 2006)
