Former England and Chelsea captain John Terry has picked out France as his favourites to win the World Cup. France, the 2022 runners-up, cruised through qualifying to secure their spot at this summer's spectacle, picking up five wins and one draw from their six matches en route to the finals.
France's World Cup Campaign
Les Bleus will begin their quest to lift the trophy for a third time after victories in 1998 and 2018 against Senegal at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium tomorrow evening. With contests versus Iraq and Norway to follow, France's star-studded squad have been backed as the overwhelming favourites to top Group I and advance through to the knockout phase of the tournament.
France have now featured in four of the last seven World Cup finals, with Didier Deschamps involved in three of those showpieces once as a player and twice as a manager. Deschamps will no doubt be desperate to get his hands on the trophy for a third time next month, and ex-England defender Terry is confident his Kylian Mbappe and Co have every chance of going all the way once again.
Terry's Prediction
Asked who he feels will lift the trophy in a month's time, Terry told TimesLIVE: 'I'm going to have to go with France. I think their strength in depth and the attacking options they have: Desire Doue, Michael Elise, Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Rayan Cherki it's endless. They're good defensively, their midfield is very good, I think they have such a good squad and it feels like they're high on confidence at the moment as well. They've got PSG players that have just come off the back of a big European win as well. I hope I'm wrong, I hope it's England, but I just think France and Spain have a really good chance.'
England Squad Omissions
Turning his attentions to England, Terry who featured at two World Cups for the Three Lions voiced his disagreement with certain omissions in Thomas Tuchel's 26-man squad. According to the former Chelsea centre-back, both Harry Maguire and Cole Palmer should have been given the nod this summer.
'Firstly, from a defender's point of view, I'd have liked to have seen Harry Maguire on the plane,' Terry said of the Manchester United defender. 'In the second half of the season, when Michael Carrick went in at Manchester United, I think Maguire was pivotal to Manchester United's success and his individual performances have warranted him being on the plane for England. I think out of the group there, he's one of England's best defenders so I would have Harry there.'
'Cole Palmer hasn't had his best season for Chelsea but we haven't got many players in the world that can do what he can do. I think Jude Bellingham gives you that, Harry Kane gives you that, Cole Palmer gives you that special moment or that bit of magic. It might not happen but for 10 or 15 minutes, something really special can happen with these guys as well so, for me, those are the two big names I'd have on the plane if it was my decision.'
World-Class Duo
Terry is adamant that Tuchel should have taken 'world-class' duo Phil Foden and Cole Palmer but knows 'only time will tell' if he is proven correct. 'The manager hasn't picked players in terms of their name. He's put it on form and stuff like that,' he went on. 'Yeah, you can argue that Phil Foden has been out of form and Cole Palmer has been out of form, but these are two world-class players playing for big, big clubs and also Palmer scored the goal for England against Spain in the Euros. These guys can do it on the big stage. We're looking at players in this squad and going, "I'm not sure if you can", and only time will tell. Maybe they prove me wrong and I'm wrong in this, but I would just disagree with some of the decisions Tuchel has made.'
Midfield Key for England
Asked if England's midfield combination of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice could steer England to the title, Terry replied: '100 per cent. I think Bellingham has got that bit of class. He's a world-class player for me. Real Madrid have signed him at a very young age and he's only going to get better. There seems to be something between him and Tuchel and I'm not sure what it is, but I hope he has a big impact on this World Cup as well because I'm a big believer. He reminds me of Zinedine Zidane when I watch him, the way he glides around the pitch. He creates goals, he scores goals, so I'm excited to see him.'
'We have Morgan Rogers as well who has had a great season with Aston Villa. Do I think Bellingham is better than Rogers? Yes, I do. But if you're talking about after 50 to 60 minutes sending Rogers on then I think that's a good dynamic within the group. But Rice, Bellingham and Harry Kane are pivotal to this group and Reece James as well at right-back.'
