Zidane: France will beat England

The two sides are to meet on June 13 in the opening game of Group B and the majestic midfielder is predicting only one winner in what is sure to be a fraught encounter.

''There is no doubt that France will win against England,'' declared Zidane.

''They have a good midfield and attack, but the worst part about the team is definitely the defence.

''The last line is fundamental in a team and England's back four do not exactly instill me with confidence.

''If they want to do well they must improve at the back.

''At the moment, there's is no way we will lose against them - and I confidently predict a 1-0 victory against England.''

Despite Zidane's cocksure attitude towards Eriksson's outfit, the player does concede that England do have the players to progress in the summer and that the two sides could meet later in the tournament.

''But, I would like it if England could go far and perhaps we could meet them again,'' continued Zidane.

''I think that England has a great team. Their players are experienced and they have some real quality in their side.

''If they can recover from defeat against us in the first game, then I think that they have what it takes to go far in the tournament.''