Arsene Wenger says England cannot cannot be ruled out as contenders for the World Cup in 2014.
The Three Lions were beaten by Chile and Germany during the international break, sparking doubts over the potential of Roy Hodgson's side.
But Wenger thinks the competition will become "very open" if England can reach the quarter-finals.
"You have to wait a little bit for the draw and see what sort of group England will get"
Arsene Wenger
"They are not favourites but it is a very open competition," said Wenger. "To me it looks like once you are in the quarter-final, you cannot rule them out.
"To get in there, that will certainly be the most difficult thing but you have to wait a little bit for the draw and see what sort of group England will get.
"It is the same for France," added Wenger. "The situation at the World Cup is that you have 32 teams, and 13 are from Europe. That is a little bit unbalanced but it means that any team you face in Europe, you cannot predict who will win.
"If England plays against France, or France against Holland, it is unpredictable."
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