EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - Sweden's World Cup run ended Tuesday with a 3-0 loss to France, a defeat coach Graham Potter called unavoidable against a superior opponent.
Potter told reporters his team needed to be flawless, and even that might not have been enough against Kylian Mbappe's dominant French side. Sweden suffered their earliest tournament exit since 1990.
"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 said.
He highlighted the gap between the two squads. France advanced to the knockout stage with a perfect group-stage record of nine points. Sweden's younger, developing team squeaked into the tournament after a chaotic campaign.
Mbappe scored twice, including a curling shot late in the first half. Bradley Barcola added a third goal. Sweden defender Victor Lindelof noted the quick second-half goals made the task even more difficult.
"We're facing a very good team, but we wanted to have more of the game," Lindelof said.
Potter offered his final assessment of the champions. "I personally haven't seen a better team (than France)," he stated. France next faces Paraguay in the round of 16.