France’s “curse”—they’ve never beaten Sweden in major tournaments. Can they break it this time?

Brothers, here’s a piece of data you might not believe: in the main draws of international major tournaments, the French team has never beaten Sweden.

The two teams have faced each other only twice in major tournaments. In the 1992 European Championship group stage, France drew 1-1 with Sweden. In the 2012 European Championship group stage, France lost 0-2 to Sweden. Two matches—one draw and one loss—with zero wins. Although that was more than a decade ago, the label of “can’t win against Sweden in major tournaments” really has stuck to the French team.

But brothers, history is meant to be broken. In their most recent five matches against Sweden, France have won four. In 2020, the European Nations League—France won 4-2 at home and edged out Sweden 1-0 away. It’s not a major tournament, but it shows France has already found a way to beat Sweden.

And Sweden today is completely different from 2012. Back then they had Ibrahimović. Now they have Isak, Gyökeres, and Elanga, but their overall strength and star power still aren’t on the same level as before. What about France? Mbappé has already matched Klose’s World Cup record of 16 goals, and Dembélé scored 4 in the group stage—this attacking line is stronger by more than just one level compared with 2012.

France’s head coach Deschamps also said before the match: “Statistics are meant to be broken.” This isn’t just showy talk—there really is that kind of confidence. With Mbappé and Dembélé in hot form, and Sweden’s defense missing their starting center-back, Hien, the probability of France breaking this “curse” is truly very high.

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