Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright has named Argentina as the team most capable of stopping France from winning the 2026 World Cup. France, who lost to Argentina in the 2022 final in Qatar, have been in dominant form, with Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, and Bradley Barcola impressing. Mbappe scored twice in a 3-1 round-of-16 win over Sweden, setting up a quarter-final against Paraguay.
Wright's assessment on The Overlap
Speaking on ITV's The Overlap alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Jill Scott, Wright said: 'It's going to take something [to beat France]. It's going to take an Argentina because of the warrior nature of Argentina.' He added that Argentina could succeed by making it 'horrible' for Mbappe and Dembele.
When asked again who could stop France, Wright repeated: 'Argentina. Make it horrible for them.'
France's unity and depth
Wright dismissed concerns about internal discord, noting the team's cohesion. 'They look together because you can see if there was going to be [an internal implosion], it would be Mbappe and Dembele, but they look so tight,' he said. He highlighted Michael Olise's role, stating that Mbappe and others defer to him. Wright also praised manager Didier Deschamps, calling it his last tournament, with players motivated to win for him.
France have a history of self-destruction at World Cups, notably in 2010, but Wright sees no signs of that. 'They're focused, they've got everything. It's individual brilliance. Afterwards you're saying, 'Well, how are you going to stop them?'... what are you going to do? Are you going to put a man-marker on Olise? Are you going to double up on Dembele or Doue? Come on!'
Lineker echoes the view
Former England striker Gary Lineker also identified Argentina as a threat, telling The Rest Is Football: 'Most of us thought France could implode because that's happened at times historically, but they seem to be really together. I honestly think it's going to be incredibly difficult for any team to compete with them never mind beat them.'
Lineker noted France's depth: 'Kylian Mbappe is obviously France's superstar but you can't just crowd around him because then they've got [Michael] Olise, [Ousmane] Dembele, [Bradley] Barcola, [Desire] Doue, [Rayan] Cherki... You just think it's hard to look beyond them unless they pick up a couple of injuries to the superstars because they're just breathtaking.'
Other contenders
Lineker also mentioned Spain as a potential challenger if they improve, but said: 'I would say Argentina are the ones. It will be very difficult for England, I have to say. I'm feeling like there will be a replay of the final in Qatar from four years ago.'
