Gary Neville has stated that only one team can prevent France from winning the World Cup this summer, given their dominant performances so far. Didier Deschamps' side continued their rampant form by defeating Sweden 3-0 in the last 32 on Tuesday night, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice to bring his tournament tally to six goals, and Bradley Barcola adding another.
France's Unstoppable Run
France have been cutting through opponents with ease, having beaten Senegal 3-1, Iraq 3-0, and Norway 4-1 before the Sweden match. They now face Paraguay in the next round, a team that knocked out Germany but are considered distant underdogs against the relentless French side.
Neville, speaking on ITV, said: 'The only team I can see stopping France right now, because of the mentality, is Argentina. 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.'
Argentina as the Main Threat
Argentina also cruised through their group with three wins and face Cape Verde in the last 32. Neville believes the defending champions possess the mentality to compete with France, but he has not seen similar qualities from other teams. 'Look, something may emerge. England, Spain, Portugal, we may see a step up. Let's hope so,' he added.
He further commented on France's attacking quartet of Mbappe, Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, and Michael Olise: 'That four that started the game – they will cause nightmares for every single defender in the tournament and I don't know how they stop that to be fair. A level above. Brazil won in the last minute. Germany and Holland have gone out. They are showing everyone else in this round how to do it.'
Potential Path to the Final
France's next match is against Paraguay, with the winner facing Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals. A potential semi-final opponent could be Spain or Portugal. Ian Wright echoed Neville's sentiments, saying: 'France in this form. They'll be more worried about playing against France than they'd be worried about playing Spain or Portugal. It's only if France have a total capitulation, which I can't see, for them to [not] go on to win it. I can't see what's stopping them at the minute.'
