BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes France’s formidable squad is virtually unstoppable but has tipped Spain as the solitary European powerhouse capable of halting Les Bleus’ charge for another World Cup victory dance
Delivering his definitive prediction for the final stages of the ongoing El Mundial, the legendary football Manager, who entered the record books coaching the Arsenal’s “Invincibles” during the historic 2003–2004 Premier League season, cited Spain’s elite technical quality and tactical dominance, as weapons that can easily take down the french side.
Though backing France to lift the trophy once again, he said the semi-final clash between the two European heavyweights presents a thrilling blockbuster set-up that should give football aficionados across the world a lot of exciting moments to savour.
Wenger Backs Les Bleus
However, the current FIFA chief of global football development insists Didier Deschamps’ men look unstoppable and has tipped them to emerge as world champions in this year’s tournament given what he described as the convincing performances of Mbappe and Company.
With the French national team looking so formidable in their opening five matches as well as the quarter-final clash against Morocco, Wenger believes they possess an extraordinary speed and momentum that make it incredibly difficult for rival teams to match their strength.
According to the 76-year-old legendary former manager, who shared his in-depth analysis during a guest appearance on Felix and Toni Kroos’ podcast, his prediction is purely based on technical quality on the pitch, rather than any subjective bias as a French citizen.
“France will win the World Cup. I know you’re going to say it’s because I’m French. But when you analyse the tournament a bit, the train is moving at a certain speed today. And you have to be capable of getting on board that train”, he volunteered
Spain Pose Tactical Threat
Despite European representatives dominating the quarter-finals, Wenger dismissed England’s chances and believes Argentina will struggle to retain the title. In his opinion, only Luis de la Fuente’s La Roja squad possess the collective identity and tactical maturity to trouble the compact French squad.
“For me, the real question mark is Spain. If any team is capable of beating France right now, I would say it’s Spain. Because they have a better technical level than France. They have a quality of collective play, and a culture of collective play, that nobody else in the world has at the moment. Not at this level, anyway. So it’s between those two in my opinion. After that, of course, France is stronger physically.”
Semi-Final Spots Take Shape
A stern physical and mental test now awaits France as they face Spain in a titanic battle on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 inside AT&T Stadium (Dallas Stadium) in Arlington, Texas. Both European powerhouses handled their quarter-finals’ assignments quite well. While France comfortably reached the semis after a 2-0 victory over Morocco, Spain battled hard to edge out Belgium 2-1 on a late Mikel Merino goal to advance.
The two sides share interesting history in their recent meetings. Spain defeated France 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semifinals and also bested them in a 5-4 thriller in the UEFA Nations League. Against Spain’s new golden generation, spearheaded by Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal, is not leaving anything to chance and their sensational 18-year-old star Yamal has warned that France should be wary of a confident Spanish squad
As history beckons for both countries, the impressive form so far, physical consistency and squad depth in the tournament, will be the ultimate deciding factors in the race for football’s most prestigious trophy on earth.
And Wenger, who led Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ to an undefeated league record of 26 wins and 12 draws, establishing an English record of 49 consecutive unbeaten matches, says though Didier Deschamps’ side are the “super favourites”, perfectly built for the intense pace of the tournament with their unmatched bench of world-class attackers, the Spanish threat is real.
According to him, if anyone has the tactical quality to derail France’s title charge, it is Spain, given their “culture of collective football that nobody else has in the world at that level”.
For the record, Arsene Wenger is remembered fondly for guiding a talented Arsenal squad, featuring iconic players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pirès, and Dennis Bergkamp, for 22 years (1996–2018), winning a total of three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups in the process. – With agency reports
