Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told beIN SPORTS that France has the most talented players in the world, making it a “nightmare” for coach Didier Deschamps to choose a squad.
Deshamps, who has been in charge of France since 2012, has a number of gifted players at his disposal, including Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.
France finished as runners-up at Euro 2016, are top of their 2018 World Cup qualifying group and are currently ranked sixth in FIFA’s World Rankings.
Wenger said: “I’m convinced, maybe because I’m French, but at the moment the best players in the world are in France.
“When you put yourself today in Deschamps’ place it’s a nightmare to select the first 20 best … and [then the] XI best — that is not a problem we have at the moment in Spain.
“Germany as well is still there but maybe a little bit less strong than they were in Brazil.
“The upcoming force in international football for me is France. You find top quality players in France now like you had in Brazil 20 years ago. Every corner you can find a player who can play for the national team basically.
“When you look at players like [Monaco’s Tiemoue] Bakayoko [who was called up following an injury to Pogba] and [Lyon’s Alexandre] Lacazette who are not even selected, that was not the case 10 years ago.
“That’s why I think France has an exceptional potential and maybe could take over.”
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