It is not only their devastating finishing about which France’s World Cup rivals should be concerned.
The spirit and unity of this exceptionally talented Les Bleus team should also worry the remaining sides left in the tournament – and it was on full display during Tuesday’s 3-0 dismantling of Sweden.
After Kylian Mbappe’s superbly crafted opening goal, France’s all-time leading scorer ran straight towards his bench to embrace Didier Deschamps.
The head coach was back in the dugout for the first time since returning from France to attend the funeral of his mother.
It was a heartfelt moment.
Mbappe and Deschamps were then joined by the rest of the team. A group hug followed.
After an emotional few days, the smile was back on Deschamps’ face as his side turned on the style in the baking New Jersey heat to book a last-16 tie with Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday, 4 July (22:00 BST).
“This group is united and they delivered when I was not here [last week],” said Deschamps afterwards.
“The team spirit of this group doesn’t make you win matches. But I know if it’s the other way round, you can lose games. The collective strength is above everything.”
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni added: “We know the coach is going through a lot, we are trying to give everything to make him as happy as possible.”
Bradley Barcola made it 2-0 before Mbappe added his second to move level on six goals with Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
“You cannot stop this kind of ability,” former England striker Ian Wright told ITV Sport.
“France are one of the most clear favourites I have ever seen in a World Cup tournament.”
Wright’s former Arsenal team-mate Patrick Vieira, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, added: “They showed to everyone that they are the team to beat.”
He was not wrong.
As well as Mbappe’s outstanding finishing, Michael Olise chipped in with another couple of assists to take his tally to five for the tournament, as France became the first team to score three or more goals in five straight World Cup matches.
It was a breathless display that left the 80,000 fans lucky to be inside the stadium asking: is anyone capable of stopping France’s Class of 2026?
