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Arsene Wenger calls England and France ‘World Cup favourites’ and backs them to set up a quarter-final showdown in Qatar by beating Senegal and Poland in the round of 16.
Arsene Wenger has dared to look straight ahead at a clash between England and his native France, two teams he considers capable of going all the way in this World Cup.
“If all goes to plan, these two favorites, England and France, could play each other,” Wenger, former Arsenal boss and now FIFA’s head of global football development, said as England prepared for Senegal and France for Poland at the round of 16
“It’s never as easy as it looks on paper,” he added, noting how Argentina was pushed all the way by Australia on Saturday, but the 73-year-old expects nations with the strongest teams to go further in Qatar.
Arsene Wenger has backed England and France to advance from their round of 16 matches and meet in the quarter-finals.
‘The teams with the best benches have a better chance of winning, France being one of them. They were young when they won the World Cup and they can defend it. France went through difficult times last year and came here wanting to win. France will be dangerous to the end.
Wenger was presenting the group stage results of his technical study group in Doha.
“The great teams have appeared,” he added. ‘England, one of them, excelled in the first game, struggled in the second and then came back when they needed to be very convincing against Wales.
England moved comfortably through their group after beating Wales on Tuesday
After a great performance in the group stage, France lost their last game against Tunisia, but still progressed as the leader.
‘England have learned a lot in the competition and unlike Belgium who are already over the top, England seem to be a team now at their best to develop. They have learned and still have a young team.
‘Gareth Southgate is a very intelligent man, able to analyze games and performances well. He’s like the team, he learned from the World Cup and he learned from the Eurocup and now he’s in a good position to deliver.”
Jurgen Klinsmann, the former Germany and USA boss who is also part of Wenger’s technical studios, said: “England are fascinating because of Russia’s progression to the Euro when they thought they had it, and I’m sure Gareth Southgate has only one goal here.” , to bring the trophy home.
The former Arsenal manager also praised Gareth Southgate for his experience in charge of the Three Lions.
‘My experience in a World Cup is that once the tie starts, it’s a new tournament. You have to cross off the group stage and then take a completely different mental approach for the knockout matches. You have to change something in your brain.
‘If you’re not 100% there, you could go home. It can be one little thing, one set up, one mistake and you go home. We can see England coming. They have high quality players in the best league in the world and it is a good time to comply.’
Findings from Wenger’s technical studies include the changing role of the goalkeeper, now expected to play with both feet and hands, and the increase in attacking wide areas as teams focus on defending in the centres.
“In the Netherlands-USA, all the goals were from crosses, this confirmed the trend,” Wenger said. ‘I think the team with the best wing players will win this tournament. When I talk about the best wing players, not only the attacking players, but also the full-backs and the tandem on the wings.’