Sweden had reached at least the round of 16 in each of its previous four World Cup appearances, but the two-time champions proved too strong as Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Bradley Barcola added another to secure France’s place in the next round.
“We had to be perfect, and even if we were, I’m not sure that would have been enough, if I’m brutally honest, because the opponent was at a high level,” Potter told reporters.
“You look at the careers and the CVs of the French team, you compare them to ours, where we’re at. We’re a young developing team with hopefully a lot of good things ahead of us.”
The gulf between the teams had been evident before kickoff. France advanced from the group stage with a perfect nine points, while Sweden scraped into the knockout phase after navigating a turbulent group campaign.
France set the tone before the match even began, warming up to Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose” before overwhelming Sweden in oppressive heat with sustained attacking pressure.
Mbappe broke the deadlock late in the first half with a trademark curling finish before Barcola extended the lead after the interval. Mbappe then completed his brace to register his 18th goal of the tournament.
Swedish supporters had briefly dared to believe another major upset might be possible after Paraguay eliminated Germany on penalties a day earlier, but France quickly extinguished those hopes.
“If we had got in 0-0 in the break, it would have been nice,” Sweden captain Victor Lindelof said. “They get goals pretty quickly in the second half, and then it gets even harder. We’re facing a very good team, but we wanted to have more of the game.”
Despite the heavy defeat, Potter said his players should leave the tournament with pride after gaining valuable experience against one of the favorites to win the title.
France will face Paraguay in the round of 16.
“Of course it’s football, anything is possible,” Potter said. “But I personally haven’t seen a better team than France.”
