Arsene Wenger names the only team that can stop France winning the World Cup

Arsene Wenger has offered his verdict on who he believes can stop France from winning the World Cup.

France arrived as the overwhelming favourites at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with their incredible performances reinforcing belief they can win a third World Cup on July 19.

Led by Kylian Mbappe's irrepressible talents, Les Bleus have conceded just twice in their opening five games, with Mbappe's penalty against Paraguay securing their passage into the last eight against Morocco on Thursday.

In a repeat of the 2022 semi-final, Didier Deschamps' side can record their third successive last-four appearance in the competition with victory over the African nation, and in doing so, face a showdown against either Spain or Belgium.

Arsene Wenger thinks France will win the World Cup after being far and away the most impressive team at this tournament, but if anyone can stop them, the former Arsenal boss believes Spain have the best chance.

"France will win the World Cup," Wenger told Sky Sports. "I know you will say, “of course you say that, you’re French”.

"But when you analyse the World Cup, the train goes at a certain pace, and you have to be capable of getting on the train.

"For example, the Asian teams have gone out because they could not cope with the intensity and the pace of the games. They did not have enough to technically compete.

Wenger believes that Spain, who France will meet in the semi-final if they win their respective matches, have "quality" that "nobody else" in world football has.

"The real question for me is Spain. If one team is capable now of beating France I would say it is Spain because their technical level is better than France," the 76-year-old added.

"They have quality and a culture of collective football that nobody else in the world has at that level. That could be the decider between these two but of course France is stronger physically."

Should the narrative play out as forecasted, with Spain meeting France in the semi-finals, the winner of that potential showdown is expected to go all the way, but Gary Neville believes another team has a great chance.

Gary Neville says who he thinks will win the World Cup

On the other side of the draw, England play Norway in the quarter-finals after overcoming co-hosts Mexico in a five-goal thriller. Argentina, meanwhile, staged a stunning 14-minute comeback to beat Egypt in another incredible match.

Inspired by Lionel Messi's brilliance, Argentina can make history by recording successive World Cup triumphs after beating France in the 2022 final, and Gary Neville thinks that they have the best chance of stopping Deschamps' winning machine.

"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," Neville said on ITV Sport last week.

"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 will have to improve defensively to stand any chance of lifting the trophy in less than two weeks after conceding twice on both occasions against Cape Verde and Egypt.