Gary Lineker says only two teams can 'stop' France winning the World Cup
England legend Gary Lineker says it will be ‘incredibly difficult’ for ‘any team’ to prevent France from winning the World Cup.
France booked their place in the last-16 of the World Cup with an impressive 3-0 win over Sweden on Tuesday night.
Didier Deschamps’ side have been arguably the most impressive team throughout the tournament, beating Senegal, Iraq and Norway in the group stage, scoring ten goals in the process.
France, who won the World Cup in 2018 and were beaten finalists four years ago, face Paraguay for a place in the quarter-finals after the south American side stunned Germany last time out.
Lineker rates ‘breathtaking’ France as his World Cup favourites and says defending champions Argentina could be the only team capable of ‘stopping’ Deschamps’ star-studded team out in the United States.
Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications.
The legendary England striker also raised European champions Spain as possible rivals for France but all but dismissed England’s chances of winning the World Cup for the first time since 1966.
England impressed in their World Cup opener against Croatia, winning 4-2, but were then held to a goalless draw by Ghana before an unconvincing victory over Panama.
Thomas Tuchel’s side, who are bidding to end 60 years of hurt, looked set for an embarrassing World Cup exit at the hands of DR Congo, who led their last-32 clash for over an hour.
But Harry Kane came to England’s rescue, scoring two late goals to send the Three Lions into the last-16, where they will face co-hosts Mexico in the early hours of Monday morning.
‘Most of us thought France could implode because that’s happened at times historically,’ Lineker said on The Rest is Football. ‘But they seem to be really together.
‘I honestly think it’s going to be incredibly difficult for any team to compete with them never mind beat them.
‘Kylian Mbappe is obviously France’s superstar but you can’t just crowd around him because then they’ve got [Michael] Olise, [Ousmane] Dembele, [Bradley] Barcola, [Desire] Doue, [Rayan] Cherki…
‘You just think it’s hard to look beyond them unless they pick up a couple of injuries to the superstars because they’re just breathtaking.
‘I mean, who can stop them? I don’t think there’s any conceivable way they won’t get to the semi-finals.
‘At that point they will likely face Spain, who haven’t looked great so far. Maybe they can grow into the tournament.
‘Possibly Spain would have some kind of chance if they find the form of two years ago. But I would say Argentina are the ones.
‘It will be very difficult for England, I have to say. I’m feeling like there will be a replay of the final in Qatar from four years ago.’
Ex-Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville also feels Argentina could be France’s biggest rival at the World Cup.
‘The only team I can see stopping France right now, because of the mentality, is Argentina,’ Neville said on ITV.
‘Just because of the nastiness and the horribleness and their experience. That’s the only team I can see that’s got the unity right now that I think could stand in front of France.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy