Gary Lineker has named the two ‘favourites’ to win the World Cup this summer ahead of England.
Thomas Tuchel will attempt to lead England to only their second World Cup trophy and first in 60 years when the Three Lions travel to the United States.
England threatened to secure silverware a number of times under former manager Sir Gareth Southgate but ultimately fell short, losing two European Championship finals and going deep in two World Cups.
Confidence is high that England can challenge once again under Champions League-winning manager Tuchel, who has the likes of record goalscorer Harry Kane and Premier League Player of the Year contender Declan Rice at his disposal.
Lineker views England as ‘one of the frontrunners’ to win the World Cup but insists they are behind Spain and France in the pecking order.
Spain go into the World Cup as European champions, having beaten England in the Euro 2024 final, while France won the World Cup in 2018 before losing in the final four years later.
‘The World Cup is getting very close now,’ ex-England striker Lineker, the 1986 World Cup top goalscorer, said on The Rest is Football podcast.
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‘I know Spain are actually the bookies’ favourites, closely followed by England, France, Argentina and Brazil. I think they’re the big five.
‘France have got a hell of a squad, haven’t they? They have an amazing squad, but I’m going to go with Spain.
‘I think they could do a repeat of what they did a decade or so ago and win consecutive tournaments. I mean, they’ve got some players, Spain.
‘I think Spain have to be the team to beat, Obviously, we’d all love England to win. Portugal could be a decent outside bet as well.
‘They will have to control the narrative around [Cristiano] Ronaldo and manage his minutes and see if he accepts that. That will be important for them.
‘But they have got some cracking players. I think it’s a good outside bet, Portugal. Also, don’t rule out Argentina and even Brazil.
‘But I’m going with Spain. England are definitely one of the frontrunners but I think Spain have to be favourites ahead of us, personally I think France too.
‘I think in recent tournaments, the English team has progressed sufficiently to have a chance of winning it. But I can’t remember any of us actually predicting England to win a tournament for a while.’
Former England defender Micah Richards added: ‘I would always back England, especially with the players they have available.
‘The only slight concern for me is the climate. The climate, guys, you know what it’s like playing in that heat.
‘The players from Spain, Italy and France generally play in better weather and are perhaps better equipped to play in the heat. If I had to pick one, I would go with you and choose Spain.’
England begin their World Cup campaign on June 17 against Croatia. Ghana and Panama are the other two teams in Group L.
In their final international break before the World Cup, a much-changed England team drew 1-1 with Uruguay on Friday. Tuchel’s side face Japan in another friendly on Tuesday.
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