From the moment the World Cup draw was announced in December, Philadelphia and the soccer world started dreaming of a potential France-Germany showdown on July 4.
Alas, that dream did not come true, thanks to Germany’s upset loss to Paraguay on Monday. But the other half of the equation has delivered, as the city already saw in the group stage. France will return to town as the favorite to win it all, with its superstar attacking core firing on all cylinders.
After scoring 10 goals in the group stage, the most of any of the 48 teams in the tournament, Les Bleus laid a 3-0 hammering down on Sweden in the Meadowlands on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappé scored twice to match Lionel Messi’s six goals in the tournament to date, and Bradley Barcola struck his second goal of the summer.
Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning world player of the year with the Ballon D’Or award, has four goals, and Desiré Doué has one. The fifth superweapon, winger Michael Olise, has a team-leading five assists — and came inches from a spectacular first World Cup goal on Tuesday when a bicycle kick attempt hit the post.
Paraguay will arrive in town after overcoming its 4-1 loss to the United States in its group stage opener. La Albirroja beat Turkey, 1-0, held Australia to a scoreless tie, then toppled Germany in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 tie.
This was the team that looked much more like the one that rode a stingy defense to its first World Cup berth in 16 years, finishing sixth in South America’s 10-team round robin with the second-lowest goals allowed total (10).
Paraguay’s roster has many familiar faces to fans of MLS. Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United), Andrés Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps), and Braian Ojeda (Orlando) play in the league now, and three others used to: Matías Galarza (Atlanta), Diego Gómez (Inter Miami), and Alejandro “Kaku” Romero Gamarra (New York Red Bulls).
It’s easy to say the matchup is offense vs. defense, but France is also plenty stingy. It has allowed just two goals in four games so far, one each to Senegal and Norway. That’s what manager Didier Deschamps has always demanded in his 14-year tenure, just as he did as a player: the midfield anchor and captain of France’s 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros champions.
Sometimes, over the years, it has felt like that approach has stifled France’s constellation of stars. But the results have ultimately come: Euros runner-up in 2016, World Cup champion in 2018, UEFA Nations League champion in 2021, and runner-up to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in 2022’s all-time classic final.
This time, this team is all in for Deschamps’ final tournament on the bench. Even Mbappé, often criticized for not playing enough defense at his club, Real Madrid, is doing his part.
They’re also in for Deschamps himself, as his mother died recently. He left the tournament for a few days to attend to that and returned in time for Tuesday’s contest. When Mbappé opened the scoring, he ran over to give his manager a big hug.
Deschamps looked just as thrilled, no matter how much of Mbappé’s sweat landed on his suit on a hot day.
Now France is aiming to become just the third team in men’s World Cup history to make three straight finals. Brazil did it in 1994, ‘98, and ‘02, winning the first and third (and losing the second to France); and Germany did it in 1982, ‘86, and ‘90, winning the last of them.
The world is watching and waiting to see how far this team goes. Philadelphia already had a front-row seat once, the 3-0 win over Iraq where Mbappé scored a spectacular strike and Dembélé scored his first major-tournament goal after many years of trying. Now the city gets a second turn.
France’s first visit also made headlines for the thunderstorms that delayed the start of the second half by two hours. Saturday’s game could land in Mother Nature’s crosshairs again, with the heat dome expected to crack that day and send the sky exploding. It’s just a question of what time, and whether it happens early enough to pass by kickoff.
With that big caveat, the countdown is on. Clashes between European and South American teams have defined World Cups for generations, and this one will add another chapter to the history.
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