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Arsene Wenger is confident France can go all the way at this summer’s World Cup (Picture: Getty)
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has picked out France as his favourites to win the World Cup.
France breezed through qualifying to secure their spot at this summer’s spectacle, picking up five wins and one draw from their six contests en route to the finals.
First up for Les Bleus is a trip to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to face Senegal next Tuesday, where they will begin their quest to lift the trophy for a third time after victories in 1998 and 2018.
With contests against Iraq and Norway to follow, the French find themselves as the overwhelming favourites to top Group I and progress through to the knockout phase of the tournament.
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Deschamps captained France to their first-ever World Cup triumph 28 years ago and Les Bleus have now featured in four of the last seven finals, with the 57-year-old involved in three of those showpieces.
He will no doubt be desperate to get his hands on the trophy for a third time next month – and Wenger is confident his fellow countrymen have every chance of going all the way once again.
‘I put them above the others. France have so much talent and Deschamps has experience,’ the ex-Arsenal boss told Le Figaro.
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France are grouped with Senegal, Iraq and Norway (Picture: Getty)
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Deschamps can steer Les Bleus to a third world title, according to Wenger (Picture: Getty)
‘We have so many attacking players that the danger is being a little unbalanced offensively.
‘But today, the modern player, even an attacking one, knows how to do his share of the defensive work.
‘When you’re 0-0 against France with 20 minutes to go, you lose the match. Power makes the difference.’
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Despite scoring 42 goals in all competitions, it proved a difficult second season for Kylian Mbappe at Real Madrid, with reports of dressing room unrest dominating the Spanish backpages towards the back-end of the campaign.
But the superstar forward will no doubt be itching to get back out on the pitch to silence his critics over the coming weeks having finished UEFA qualifying as the third-highest scorer with nine goals to his name.
‘There’s one man who is at the centre of all expectations: Kylian Mbappe,’ Wenger said of the attacker, who won the World Cup aged just 19 back in 2018.
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Mbappe can have a ‘fantastic’ tournament despite a tough club campaign, says Wenger (Picture: Getty)
‘I’m ready to bet on it, he’s going to have a fantastic World Cup.
‘He’s been unfairly criticised often this season. He landed in an average RealMadrid team. Real has three or four world-class players. Before, they had ten.
‘Football is such that you always need a scapegoat. He’s become that [at Real Madrid].’
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Mbappe was Madrid’s top scorer but finished the season trophyless (Picture: Getty)
According to Wenger, Mbappe’s lack of minutes across an injury-hit season could be a blessing in disguise for France.
‘Kylian has everything it takes to have a great World Cup. He’s physically fresh, he’s not overworked,’ he added.
‘I’ve seen players with 60 matches under their belts before the World Cup tell me, “I’m not making any progress in training and I have nothing left in my legs,’ but he’s not like that.
‘There are international players who arrive completely exhausted. I haven’t seen many players have a great World Cup after a Champions League final.
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‘Besides, Kylian has character, a strong personality, and he knows how to rise to the occasion in big moments. He’s waiting for his opportunity.
‘People tend to forget his exceptional talent.’
Speaking to The Guardian this week, Deschamps made it clear that he and France’s squad would be embracing their status as one of the most fancied teams in the tournament.
‘We’re among the favourites,’ he explained.
‘It isn’t a taboo word for me. If we have this status today, which seems logical and legitimate to me, it’s because of everything that we have done, the results we achieved.’
The France head coach added: ‘Abroad there is perhaps more recognition.
‘I know very well, since I also travel a lot abroad, that the feeling abroad is different from the one in France.’
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