Wenger backs Group B duo
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Article summary
Arsène Wenger considers England "one of the favourites" for UEFA EURO 2004™ despite losing to a "complete" France team.
Article body
Arsenal FC manager Arsène Wenger believes that England will be serious contenders at UEFA EURO 2004™ if they can qualify from Group B.
Unlucky English
Frenchman Wenger, who won the English Premiership title with Arsenal FC last season, felt England were unlucky to lose all three points after leading for so long against France on Sunday and is backing Sven-Göran Eriksson's charges to bounce back against the Swiss today and then secure a place in the quarter-finals with a positive result against Croatia on Monday.
'Serious contenders'
"It was a mental blow for them to lose so late in the game against France, but for me, England are still one of the favourites to win the tournament," Wenger told euro2004.com. "They have to qualify first and I think they will. If they manage to qualify for the quarter-finals, England will most definitely be serious contenders to win the tournament."
'Complete' France
From the outset, Wenger has backed his native France to win the tournament outright and so far he has seen nothing to make him change his mind. "France for me, are the most complete in the tournament,"he said. "From back to front, they are the most complete team. [Zinedine] Zidane didn't have the greatest of games against England, but like all the great players he has the ability to make a difference at any given moment.
World-class Zidane
"He showed against England why he's such a world-class player, but he's not the only one in that team. I expect France to beat Croatia and they certainly have the potential to go all the way to the final."
Swedish surprise
The one thing that has surprised Wenger in the tournament so far has been the performance of Sweden, who swept Bulgaria aside 5-0 in their opening match in Group C. "Sweden's game against Bulgaria has been the best performance so far, but you have to say they were playing against a very poor Bulgaria defence," he said.
Italy test
"The test for Sweden now is how they do against Italy on Friday. If they get a good result there they would be worth considering as a team who could go far because they're well organised. They are also more creative than they used to be and with Larsson back in the side, they look capable of scoring goals."
