Vieira backs France to beat England and win the World Cup after Three Lions' 4-2 opener

Patrick Vieira has praised England’s opening World Cup victory over Croatia while making clear he does not believe Gareth Southgate’s side can go all the way — tipping France to win the tournament.

England recovered from a shaky first half to beat Croatia 4-2, with Jude Bellingham restoring their lead early in the second period and Marcus Rashford sealing the result late on. The sides were level at the break after England struggled defensively, but a strong second-half display put them firmly in control.

Vieira, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, was impressed by what he saw but urged caution. “It was a really good performance,” he said. “I think for the first game of a big tournament like that, you can say there were a lot of question marks on England and they answered them quite well. But you don’t want to build too much excitement. I think it was one of the best performances so far in the World Cup — on the same level as the French team and Argentina. But there’s still a long way to go.”

Asked directly whether England could beat France if the two sides met, Vieira was unequivocal. “The team to beat is France, there’s no doubt about it. I think that is the best team in the competition and I believe they will go to the end and win the World Cup. But I think that England, with what they showed in this first game, can hurt France, yes. But not win it.”

England’s result stood out in a round where several other favourites stumbled. Spain, Portugal and Brazil all failed to win their openers, while France and Argentina looked sharp and Germany put in a dominant display against weaker opposition.

The only competitive meeting between England and France in the past decade came at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where a 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals ended England’s campaign. France went on to reach the final before losing on penalties.

This time around, France opened their account with a 3-1 win over Senegal, Kylian Mbappé scoring twice in a commanding second-half performance. Didier Deschamps’ side are bidding to go one better than Qatar, having won the tournament in 2018.

Should both nations progress from their respective groups, they would not meet until the final. France are currently narrow favourites with bookmakers to lift the trophy, with England grouped alongside Spain and defending champions Argentina in the next tier of contenders.