Potter Urges Sweden to Play Match of Their Lives Against 2-Time Champion France

Q: After Paraguay's stunning win, can another third-place team prove the new 48-team format creates more giant-killers?

Yes. Paraguay’s upset of Germany is exactly the kind of result the 48-team format was expected to make more likely, because it gives more underdogs a route into the knockout rounds. The key change is structural: 32 teams now reach the knockouts, including the eight best third-place finishers. That means teams that would previously have gone home after the group stage now get a second life. Paraguay and Sweden are both examples of that pathway, and Bosnia-Herzegovina is another third-place side still alive in the Round of 32. Paraguay’s run is the strongest evidence so far. After an uneven group stage, it still advanced and then eliminated four-time champion Germany on penalties. Under the old 32-team World Cup, a team in that position likely would not even have reached a knockout match. The expanded field has therefore not just increased participation; it has increased the number of realistic upset opportunities. Whether Sweden can follow that script against France is another matter. Graham Potter has been blunt that his side will need “the game of our lives” and a “near-perfect performance” against a France team that won all three group matches and outscored opponents 10-2. France remains a heavy favorite. Still, the broader point stands: the new format does appear to create more giant-killer potential. More third-place teams are getting access to knockout football, and every extra knockout tie gives an underdog another chance to produce a Paraguay-style shock.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 30

Sweden face France in New York-New Jersey on Tuesday with a Round of 16 place at stake, and Graham Potter said his side must produce “the game of our lives.”
Potter rejected talk of French weaknesses, instead calling Didier Deschamps a “fantastic manager” and praising a squad he said has quality across the pitch.
The winner will meet Paraguay, who reached the Round of 16 after knocking out Germany in a penalty shootout.
Sweden are in their first World Cup knockout match since 2018 and have only 1 win this tournament; under Potter, appointed less than a year ago, they are 3-3-3 in 9 matches.