Kylian Mbappe scored twice as France swept past Sweden 3-0 in New Jersey on Tuesday to book a last-16 tie with Paraguay — but after the final whistle, an awkward moment between Manchester City midfielder Rayan Cherki and head coach Didier Deschamps briefly punctured the mood of collective joy.
Cherki, introduced as an 85th-minute substitute for Mbappe, was spotted on the pitch appearing to ignore Deschamps as the coach greeted him. The 22-year-old eventually offered a brief greeting before stopping to pull up his socks while Deschamps continued to speak, footage showed.
“Mbappe scores twice as France beat Sweden 3-0; Cherki appears to snub Deschamps after funeral return.”
The incident contrasted sharply with the earlier scenes of unity when Mbappe ran straight to Deschamps after his opening goal, embracing the coach who had just returned from France after his mother's funeral. The rest of the team joined in a group hug, bringing a smile back to Deschamps' face.
"This group is united and they delivered when I was not here last week," Deschamps said. "The team spirit of this group doesn't make you win matches. But I know if it's the other way round, you can lose games. The collective strength is above everything."
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni said: "We know the coach is going through a lot, we are trying to give everything to make him as happy as possible."
Bradley Barcola made it 2-0 before Mbappe added his second to move level on six goals with Argentina's Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot. Michael Olise contributed two more assists, taking his tournament tally to five, as France became the first team to score three or more goals in five straight World Cup matches.
"You cannot stop this kind of ability," former England striker Ian Wright told ITV Sport. "France are one of the most clear favourites I have ever seen in a World Cup tournament."
Patrick Vieira, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, added: "They showed to everyone that they are the team to beat."
Deschamps, however, urged caution. "We'd seen the other knockout matches. It's tough for everyone. It was less of a struggle for us because we executed our game plan very well, but we've only just reached the round of 16," he said. "We know what awaits us in four days."
France face Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday, 4 July at 22:00 BST — and Cherki will hope for more minutes in a side that former Arsenal striker Wright called "one of the most clear favourites" he has ever seen.