Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident that Didier Deschamps' France will win the World Cup for a third time, and believes that Spain are the only team capable of denying the current favourites.
Wenger made his comments ahead of the quarter-final matches, which see Spain face Belgium and England take on Norway. World Cup holders Argentina will meet Colombia or Switzerland for a place in the semi-finals after surviving a huge scare to beat Egypt.
Spain were held to a goalless draw by Cape Verde in their World Cup opener but recovered to top Group H. They then outclassed Austria in their first knockout game before scoring a late winner to knock out rivals Portugal.
Luis de la Fuente's side face Belgium in the quarter-finals on Friday night before a possible blockbuster showdown with World Cup favourites France. Wenger believes that the European champions have the technical level and cultural approach to their game that could be the decider between the two teams.
England's reward for a heroic win in Mexico is a quarter-final tie with Norway, who knocked out Brazil. Thomas Tuchel's side will avoid France all the way until the final if both teams get there, but could face defending champions Argentina in the semis.
