Arsene Wenger has backed France to lift the World Cup and believes Didier Deschamps' side are the favourites to win their second successive tournament.
Les Bleus take on Australia in their opening Group D encounter on Tuesday night, with Deschamps' men hotly tipped to retain their title after winning the World Cup in 2018. France romped through the competition and managed to beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Russia, with Kylian Mbappe starring the show.
However, France flopped at Euro 2020 and couldn't make it past the Last-16 as they were beaten on penalties by Switzerland, while their recent Nations League campaign was nothing short of a shambles. France were defeated twice by Denmark, and lost to Croatia as they finished on just five points from a possible 18.
France are also without several key players ahead of the World Cup with Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku all sidelined through injury. Despite their pre-tournament concerns, Wenger doesn't see Les Bleus slipping up and is backing them to do well in the competition.
When asked to name his pick to win the World Cup, Wenger told Wettbasis : "My number-one favourite is France. Not because I’m French by birth but because this Equipe Tricolore has the best attack.
"If Didier Deschamps manages to ensure the necessary stability on the defensive, then the reigning world champion will have a good chance of successfully defending his title.
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"When you’re the reigning world champion, the biggest danger is not having any worries. The teams that take it easy and aren’t focused enough on their task almost always get a nasty surprise and don’t stay in the race for long.
"To be honest, I even consider it good news that the French national team has work to do. As a result, she had to renew a few things and I am now firmly assuming that this can only have a positive effect on the performance in Doha, because Didier Deschamps’ team will be even more focused as a result."
England have also been tipped to succeed at the World Cup and they got their tournament off to the perfect start by thrashing Iran 6-2 on Monday afternoon. A brace from Bukayo Saka and goals from Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish earned a convincing win for Gareth Southgate's men.
Brazil, who have been backed by many to win the World Cup for the first time since 2002, face Serbia in their first game on Thursday, while Argentina, Portugal and Spain are also fancied by many to do well.
