Former France defender Bacary Sagna believes that the 2018 champions are the most likely winners of the ongoing FIFA World Cup holding in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Despite France’s narrow Round of 16 victory over Paraguay, Sagna said that Didier Deschamps’ side remain favourites to win the FIFA World Cup.

Speaking during a World Cup virtual media roundtable organised by Supersport yesterday, Sagna argued that France traditionally grow into tournaments rather than starting at full speed, and that their difficult win over Paraguay actually demonstrated the team’s maturity.

According to Sagna, the match required patience rather than brilliance, with Paraguay employing an extremely physical approach that disrupted the flow of the game.

“I still believe France has a good chance to win the World Cup because the national team never started a competition on a high. It has always been a build-up. It was the case in 2018, again in 2022 and again today.”

He praised France’s defensive solidity and their ability to remain composed under pressure.

“Against Paraguay, maybe Paraguay will be seen as a small nation, but it’s not. They were super aggressive. I’m not sure the referee deserved to be refereeing this type of game because, for me, it was a professional mistake.”

Sagna was particularly impressed by Kylian Mbappé and the leadership shown throughout the squad.

“I was very surprised by the maturity of the French players, especially Mbappé. They stayed calm, they didn’t react, they focused on the game, and then they moved on.”

He believes France demonstrated that knockout football is often about finding ways to win rather than entertaining.

“Sometimes it’s not about playing well. It’s about winning. They understood that.”

Sagna also highlighted France’s squad depth as one of their biggest strengths.

“We have a bench every national team could envy.”

Asked whether France can go all the way, he left little room for doubt.

“They will do it. I see them beating Morocco. I believe the team will be champions.

On the African teams’ performance at the championship, which has seen some outstanding feats by the continent’s teams, Sagna said that African football has reached one of its strongest periods, adding that the gap between Africa and Europe’s traditional powers continues to narrow.

Rather than focusing solely on results, he believes this tournament has demonstrated how much the continent has progressed tactically, structurally and in youth development.

“We can only have positive things to say about Africa,” he said, pointing to better organisation across the continent as one of the biggest reasons behind the improvement.

“African teams are much more organised and structured, which is very important,” he said, while praising the emergence of young talent across multiple African nations.

“I want to focus on the progress and the young talent who have shown the world they can play football.”

The former Arsenal star was, however, worried that the African teams have not learnt how to manage games.

Senegal was 2-0 up against Belgium up to the 85th minute, but they capitulated and lost the game to the Europeans, just as DR Congo surrendered a 1-0 lead over England to lose their round of 32 game by 2-1.

Sagna described the failure to cross the line as psychological rather than technical.

He said: “Africa needs to be aware that it has talent. They should not start or finish games with a complex of inferiority.”

He believes many African teams lose concentration once they realise they are close to producing a famous result.

“Maybe it is the fear of doing something special. It is not special. You are as good as the other players and as good as the other teams,” he said, adding: “I am sure one day you are going to have an African team reaching the final of the World Cup.”

Although disappointed by Senegal’s exit, Sagna refused to place the blame solely on the coaching staff. Instead, he believes the players themselves must accept responsibility for how the match unfolded.