Rewind to 29 June 1958, and it would have been no great surprise to see Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine lining up against Nils Liedholm and co. at Stockholm’s Rasunda Stadium in the final of the sixth edition of the FIFA World Cup™. A 17-year-old Pele, however, had other ideas. He inspired Brazil to a 5-2 semi-final victory over Les Bleus and, in the process, postponed the meeting between the European heavyweights by 68 years.
That statistical anomaly will finally be resolved on Tuesday, 30 June, when the two sides meet in the round of 32 at this year's tournament. Since the first World Cup in 1930, France and Sweden have been ever-present figures on the global stage: Les Bleus have played 76 World Cup matches; the Scandinavians have played 54.
Both have produced golden generations and left their mark on the tournament’s history. Yet, somehow, they have always managed to avoid one another, as if engaged in a game of cat and mouse.
There have been other occasions when their paths almost crossed, beyond the 1958 final, which Brazil went on to win in another 5-2 victory. In 1950, the Blagult finished third, while France opted not to make the trip to Brazil at the last minute.
In 1994, Sweden again reached the podium after a resounding 4-0 victory over the Bulgaria side that had denied Les Bleus a place at the finals in dramatic fashion during qualifying. When France reached the final in 1998, 2006, 2018 and 2022, Sweden were twice present at the tournament – in 2006 and 2018 – only to find themselves on the opposite side of the draw.
That is not to say the sides are strangers. Far from it. Their shared history includes several memorable chapters. They drew 1-1 in the group stage of UEFA EURO 1992, with Sweden on home soil. Twenty years later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a magnificent acrobatic volley in a 2-0 win during the group stage of the 2012 instalment. More recently, they crossed paths in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™, each winning 2-1 on home turf.
This time, though, the balance of power appears rather different. France arrive in the knockout phase in formidable form, with three wins and 10 goals in the group stage underlining their status among the favourites. Sweden, by contrast, have taken a less direct route, advancing as one of the best third-placed sides and without the same weight of expectation – and well aware of the scale of the challenge that lies ahead.
“I don’t see many teams capable of beating them,” said Sweden's legendary striker Ibrahimovic of France. “The only chance an opponent has is when they relax and lower the tempo. It’s the only moment when I’ve seen an opponent get into the match. They play at another level.”
For his part, Didier Deschamps has warned his charges against complacency, and Sweden can point to at least one figure who knows what it takes to trouble France. Sebastian Larsson, now part of Graham Potter’s coaching staff, scored the Blagult’s second goal in that EURO 2012 victory – the most recent meeting between the sides at a major tournament.
“If you look at our history, we’ve beaten more formidable teams before,” Larsson told Reuters. “Even though it’s France, there’s reason to believe. And hopefully the players feel the same way.”
After almost a century of near misses, the wait is over. France and Sweden will finally meet on football’s grandest stage. On paper, it is clear which team are the cat and which are the mouse. But if the FIFA World Cup has taught us anything over the decades, it is that football rarely follows the script – and that sometimes, just sometimes, the mouse slips away.
Sources: FIFA Official
