Lineker Names Not England As Favourites To Win World Cup

Gary Lineker has established which two nations he feels have a better chance of winning the next World Cup than England.

The renowned striker maintains that the Three Lions are still not as prepared for tournaments as the world’s best, despite the optimism surrounding Thomas Tuchel’s appointment.

Even though England have a superb team, Lineker contends that their rivals have a considerable advantage due to their tactical maturity and historical consistency.

Lineker Mention Spain As Favourites To Win World Cup

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker analysed the leading contenders and suggested that England still have a gap to bridge. He pointed to Spain’s ability to dominate tournaments as the deciding factor in his prediction.

The 1986 Golden Boot winner explained: “The World Cup is getting very close now. 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.

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“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.”