Sweden striker Viktor Gyökeres has disclosed that the team must deliver an almost perfect defensive performance to upset heavy favourites France in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash.
Sweden reached the knockout stage by finishing third in Group F.
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Speaking from the Swedish training camp in Dallas, Gyökeres told AFP that he acknowledged the massive challenge facing the Blågult but maintained that the squad is brimming with confidence.
Despite their erratic group campaign, which included a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia and an identical 5-1 loss to the Netherlands, the Arsenal star said that they are relying on the belief that underdogs can topple the best teams in the tournament.
“We will have to be at our best, we have to do our defensive organisation almost perfect and then of course to take the chances we will get,” he said.
“We have our confidence. I think we have to believe in ourselves.
“We’ve seen in a lot of games this tournament that you can win games (as underdogs). You can do well even though you play against the best teams.
“Of course we might be the underdogs, but we still believe in ourselves.”
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Asked by AFP about the prospect of facing Arsenal team-mate William Saliba, he said: “I’m looking forward to see him and to play against him, it’s gonna be fun.”
France made a statement in the group phase to show why they are one of the favourites, winning all three matches with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele both scoring four times so far.
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