Didier Deschamps said France's opponents "fear" Les Bleus after they broke down Sweden in a 2-1 win in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Sweden played defensively in the first half until breaking through with Emil Forsberg's free kick after the break.
France responded with goals from Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet, though Deschamps said his players must be prepared to find a way through teams that pack it in at the back.
"There are a lot of teams that will defend against us -- we already saw that against Netherlands," Deschamps told TF1. "It shows that our opponents fear us and we have to find solutions for that.
"I did not expect an easy game, so it is great to have three more points.
"It was a difficult match for us because Sweden are a good team. They are very strong physically and well organised. They played a classic 4-4-2 and were comfortable on the ball.
"When the opponent shuts up shop, you have to move the ball around more quickly and keep on moving. That is never easy."
Pogba has now scored in France's most recent two qualifiers, and Deschamps spoke of the Manchester United's mane importance to France.
"I know he likes to score, and that's good for him, but it's not specifically what I expect from him. I'm happier with his overall performance, which was in line with what he did against Holland,'' Deschamps said.
"He plays differently for United in a different system. He won a lot of possession for us and when he's playing at that level, in tandem with Blaise Matuidi in midfield, he's very important.''
Payet scored after Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen mishandled the ball under pressure from forward Antoine Griezmann, and Deschamps conceded that Griezmann was "fractionally offside" when he went to challenge for the ball.
"But some decisions went against us, too, and there was a foul on [Laurent] Koscielny not given before Sweden's goal,'' Deschamps said.
France are in first place in Group A with 10 points, three clear of Sweden.
Contenders Netherlands are a further three points back of Sweden ahead of Sunday's game at Luxembourg, while Bulgaria host Belarus.
"It's not decisive yet, but it's an important result for us," Deschamps said. "We could have done better, but that's also down to Sweden making things difficult for us. They were athletic and good on set pieces."