Brazil no longer sets the standard

The terrace tune "It's just like watching Brazil" no longer applies to the Brazilian national team.

It was always an acknowledgement of footballing excellence. In 2026, the song needs a rewrite with either Spain or France being squeezed into the lyrics.

In fact, last week the France fans could have been singing another old favourite: "We only need ten men." Kylian Mbappé and co embarrassed Vinícius Júnior and his national teammates when finishing a player light.

I was lucky enough to commentate on the showpiece friendly between two footballing heavyweights. It was billed as a possible precursor for the World Cup Final. Ultimately, it just displayed that Carlo Ancelotti is managing a pale imitation of the great Brazil teams of the past.

Viní Jr is undoubtedly world class, Raphinha is close to those standards but picked up yet another injury. It speaks volumes that veteran Casemiro was their most impressive player.

It is misleading for them to be fourth favourite to win the World Cup. It's clever of the bookies; they know that the romantics will have a cheeky bet of them. The same applies to England who are third favourites; it's a cash cow.

We all know the phrase: "The bookmakers are no mugs." It is why Spain and France have the lowest odds.

France ended the game a player short when Dayot Upamecano was sent off. In many ways it was welcomed by coach Didier Deschamps to test his players in adversity.

I always think the measure of any football team, club or country, is the strength in depth. Yes, France have Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouameni and Ousmane Dembélé who are truly world class. On the bench for the game in Boston were Real Madrid's Eduardo Camavinga, Paris Saint-Germain pair Désiré Doué and Warren Zaire-Emery plus the young Manchester City star Rayan Cherki.

All of those players started in the second warm-up match against Columbia. Doue weighed in with two goals in a 3-1 win. France are now unbeaten in nine games since losing in the crazy 5-4 National League semi-final to Spain.

Spain are the favourites as they appear to be the most complete team.

There are true world-class players like Lamine Yamal and Pedri who still have their best years ahead of them. They are just individuals in the most balanced of teams. Coach Luis De La Fuente has a style and system the players fit into. He is fiercely loyal, yet nobody is assured of a place; for example Ballon D'or winner Rodri is uncertain he'll make the team ahead of Martín Zubimendi.

They have multiple options in every position. The one criticism was the lack of a "number 9"; that has been answered by Mikel Oyarzabal who weighed in with two goals against Serbia. He's now scored nine goals in his last nine Spain appearances and, in the two games he didn't score, he recorded five assists.

My outsiders? Portugal are sixth favourites. Many people regard them as a one-man team as they can't see beyond Cristiano Ronaldo. Take into account that they were the last team to beat Spain, plus they have the underrated Roberto Martínez leading them to the finals.

I'm not a betting man, but if I was, it would be worth a cheeky each way flutter.