After Kylian Mbappe's rise to superstardom as a teen at the 2018 World Cup cemented his place in French folklore, there was an unofficial tweak to the country's motto — 'Liberte, Egalite, Mbappe'. They may as well change it again to capture the current mood.
'Olise, Dembele, Mbappe'.
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After Bradley Barcola stormed into the Swedish box from the left-hand side in the 82nd minute, the opponents just about managed to repel the effort thanks to Jacob Zetterstrom, one of the most overworked men in all of NYNJ on Tuesday afternoon. At that exact moment, Les Bleus had four men either in or just outside the box looking to pounce. Mbappe (42 goals and seven assists for club last season), Bradley Barcola (13 goals and seven assists), Michael Olise (22 goals and 31 assists for club) and Desire Doue (13 goals and 11 assists). The man who had just been subbed, Ousmane Dembele (20 goals and 11 assists), is of course the current holder of Ballon d'Or.
Reducing this French team to numbers is, frankly, doing them a disservice, but it seems like an ideal place to start after one of the best performances at the World Cup so far. It was thrilling, like football from the dream factory. Sweden didn't do much wrong, but the truth is they will consider themselves lucky to have only shipped three. France hit both posts, Zetterstrom enhanced his reputation and they also had a goal ruled offside by fractions.
When France began their campaign at the same Stadium last month, the first 45 minutes brought a few questions. Would it be the same old France, struggling to integrate all of these match-winners into the same XI? Would it be the same France, who had endured a deeply disappointing Euros in 2024? How would coach Didier Deschamps set his team up to accentuate their strengths? Would he finally release the handbrake or would he continue to sacrifice flair at the altar of control?
That initial 45 minutes against Senegal aside, this French team have played a different sport in the US this summer. The breathtaking movement, the fluid passing and interchanges and the sheer hedonism on display... these things have seldom been on show by a national team in a global event in the 21st century. Their patterns were from a higher plane, the way they moved the ball and played with gumption... watching on, it was hard not to fall in love with the game again.
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When France won the whole thing in 2018, it signalled the dawn of a new age. Paris was finally recognised as the football factory of the world but there was something prosaic about their football. Sure, Mbappe was breaking records set by Pele while Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba elevated the team. However, there was too much emphasis on control. Domenech's first port of call was always shape and discipline, like a substitute teacher who asked his students to read up on calculus rather than taking them to the nearby park. Their scores from that tournament read 2-1 (opener against Australia), 1-0 (Peru), 0-0 (Denmark), 4-3 (Argentina; Round of 16), 2-0 (Uruguay; QF), 1-0 (Belgium; SF) and 4-2 (Croatia; F). Fourteen goals across an entire campaign. They already have 13 in this edition.
Too many times, they erred on the side of caution and relied on individual brilliance from the likes of a then-teenage Mbappe to break open games. At the Euros in 2024, they had hit nadir in terms of invention and imagination in the final third. It reflected in the overall results -- 1-0 (Austria; group stage), 0-0 (Netherlands; group stage), 1-1 (Poland; group stage), 1-0 (Belgium; Round of 16), 0-0 (Portugal; win on penalties in QF) and 1-2 (Spain; SF). It was like watching a Michelin-star chef preparing lettuce sandwiches when he had access to caviar.
How, then, to marry talent with execution? This was the main question dominating Deschamps' thought process, World Cup winner as a player in 1998, when he announced that he would step down following the 2026 event. The answer, it would seem in hindsight, was just to release the handbrake and have fun. It also helps when you an Olise, making his big tournament debut for the country of his mother. In the US, he has five assists in four games, a sentence that hasn't been written since the 1994 event (Thomas Hassler for Germany). His understanding of space in the central areas or on the right has been exceptional and the way he has dovetailed with Dembele has been a joy. Against Sweden, he almost scored one of the great World Cup goals, an ambitious bicycle kick from the edge of the box just flying wide of the post.
There's also Mbappe, who has now scored the most knockout goals in the competition's history with 10. Not Lionel Messi, not Diego Maradona, not Pele, not Ronaldo. It also speaks to what he becomes when he wears the French blue. At Real Madrid, he has often been portrayed as this and that, something he was no stranger to at his previous club, PSG. For France, though, he becomes a beast. Eighteen goals in 18 World Cup games. With the promise of more to come in the days and weeks to follow.
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The Brazil team of 1970 is generally regarded as the best team to have won the World Cup. The Brazil team of 1982 is generally regarded as the best team to have not won the World Cup. Whatever happens between now and the night of July 19, this version of Les Bleus with their speed, flair and verve — va va voom — will have found a place in the minds and hearts of people.
And, ultimately, that's the only thing that really matters.
