Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes only one nation possesses the tools to derail France’s quest for a third World Cup title: Spain. The Frenchman, a two-time World Cup winner in 2018 and a finalist in 2022, has expressed unwavering confidence in Didier Deschamps’ side, who have showcased formidable form throughout the current tournament.

France has been a dominant force, topping Group I with a perfect record. Their group stage campaign saw them score ten goals across victories against Senegal, Iraq, and Norway. This momentum continued into the knockout rounds, where they dispatched Sweden in the round-of-32 before overcoming Paraguay to secure their spot in the quarter-finals. They are now set to face Morocco.

“France will win the World Cup,” Wenger confidently told Sky Sports. “I know you will say, ‘of course you say that, you’re French’. But when you analyse the World Cup, the train goes at a certain pace and you have to be capable of getting on the train. For example, the Asian teams have gone out because they could not cope with the intensity and the pace of the games. They did not have enough to technically compete.”

Spain: The sole challenger

Despite his strong conviction in French success, Wenger identified Luis de la Fuente’s Spain as the singular threat. Spain’s journey to the quarter-finals has been marked by resilience, recovering from an opening goalless draw against Cape Verde to ultimately top Group H. They then outclassed Austria in their first knockout fixture, followed by a dramatic late winner to eliminate rivals Portugal.

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Spain will now face Belgium in their quarter-final clash on Friday night.

“The real question for me is Spain,” Wenger elaborated, speaking to Sky Sports. “If one team is capable now of beating France I would say it is Spain because their technical level is better than France. They have quality and a culture of collective football that nobody else in the world has at that level. That could be the decider between these two but of course France is stronger physically.”

Quarter-final landscape

The tournament’s knockout bracket presents several intriguing matchups. Alongside France vs Morocco and Spain vs Belgium, England will take on Norway, who notably knocked out Brazil in the previous round. Thomas Tuchel’s England side, fresh from beating Mexico, could potentially face defending champions Argentina in the semi-finals, should both teams advance. Argentina survived a scare to beat Egypt and will meet Colombia or Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals. Crucially for Wenger’s prediction, England is on a path that would see them avoid France until a potential final showdown.

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