United, free and brilliant - can anyone stop France masterclass?

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United, free and brilliant - can anyone stop France masterclass?

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 …

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. …

Original source: BBC News

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Argentina · World Cup · New Jersey · Philadelphia · Michael Olise