Gary Neville reveals the only team that can actually stop France from winning the World Cup

France's commanding start to the knockout stage has done little to weaken their growing status as favourites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes there is only one team capable of preventing Didier Deschamps' side from lifting the trophy.

Following Les Bleus' emphatic 3-0 victory over Sweden, Neville argued that defending champions Argentina remain the only nation with the mentality, experience and collective resolve required to derail France's title charge. France advanced to the Round of 16 after another dominant display in New Jersey, where Kylian Mbappé struck twice and Bradley Barcola added the third goal as Les Bleus comfortably dispatched Sweden.

The victory extended an extraordinary run that has seen France win every match at the tournament while continuing to rewrite the World Cup record books on both an individual and team level.

Neville believes only Argentina possess the mentality to challenge France

Speaking on ITV Sport after France's latest victory, Neville said Deschamps' side had separated themselves from the rest of the tournament field, although he believes the reigning world champions would present a very different challenge should the two nations meet later in the competition.

"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. He continued: "That’s the only team I can see that’s got the unity right now that I think could stand in front of France. "Look, something may emerge. England, Spain, Portugal, we may see a step up. Let’s hope so." Neville also admitted France have established a significant gap over the rest of the field through the opening weeks of the tournament. "There’s a long way to go but you look at them (France) now thinking, you’ll have let yourselves down if you don’t win this. "Because they’re so far ahead, at the moment, of where the other teams are in terms of level." Discussing France's devastating attacking quartet, Neville added: "That four that started the game – they will cause nightmares for every single defender in the tournament. "I don’t know how they stop that to be fair."

France continue to strengthen their World Cup credentials

The latest performance only reinforced why France have emerged as the standout side of the competition.

They swept through Group I with victories over Senegal, Iraq and Norway before dismantling Sweden in the Round of 32, where Mbappé's brace and Barcola's finish secured a comfortable 3-0 win despite France also striking both posts and having another goal ruled out for a marginal offside. That victory set up a Round of 16 meeting with Paraguay, who stunned Germany by winning on penalties and handing the four-time world champions their first-ever World Cup shootout defeat.

Should France progress, they would face either Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals, while teams including Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Austria, the United States, Bosnia, Belgium and Senegal all remain on the same side of the bracket.

Argentina, Brazil and England can only meet France in the final.

France's current run has also produced a string of historic achievements. Deschamps' side have become the first nation in FIFA World Cup history to score three or more goals in five consecutive matches, while their victory over Sweden extended their winning streak against UEFA opponents at the World Cup to seven consecutive matches, another tournament record. Mbappé has been central to that dominance. The France captain has already scored six goals during the tournament, matching Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race while breaking the all-time World Cup knockout goals record with 10. His overall World Cup tally now stands at 18 goals, leaving him just one behind Messi's all-time record of 19.

France are also chasing redemption after falling agonisingly short in the 2022 World Cup final, where Mbappé's unforgettable hat-trick forced penalties before Argentina ultimately prevailed. Four years later, Les Bleus once again appear firmly on course for another deep run, and if Neville's assessment proves accurate, only another meeting with Lionel Messi's Argentina may stand between France and a third World Cup title.