'I always say England' - José Mourinho chats World Cup favourites & why he wants his Real Madrid stars to LOSE in North America

Some prominent 'Galacticos' form part of the nations that are expected to be there or thereabouts when the most prestigious trophy in global football is handed out. Jude Bellingham is filling the No.10 role for England, Kylian Mbappe has become France's all-time leading goalscorer and Vinicius Junior has helped to fire Brazil into the last-32 with relative ease.

They are all hoping to get their hands on the ultimate prize, while competing with the likes of Ronaldo - who has made history by scoring at a sixth World Cup - and Argentine GOAT Lionel Messi, who is now the competition's all-time leading goalscorer.

The battle to emerge victorious promises to deliver plenty of drama and entertainment, with Mourinho - speaking exclusively to Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Beast Mode On Podcast - expecting Portugal to go deep in the competition: "They should [go all the way and win the World Cup]. They are not alone. Of course there are other [contenders].

"I always say England [will be in contention to make the final]. I look to the players, and we come from that generation, [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard, [John] Terry, [Rio] Ferdinand, [David] Beckham. Since then, I always say England, and then it doesn't happen, but I always say England."

Backing up his point that England possess the quality to go far in North America, Mourinho added: "Arsenal lost the Champions League final, but they were there. Crystal Palace won the Conference League. Aston Villa won the Europa League. Apart from Barcelona, Bayern, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, the best players are in England.

"When you lose on penalties you are speaking about details and they lost on penalties once, in the Euro 2004 in Portugal... Portugal beat them on penalties too. Penalties are just little clicks.

"I believe they have more pressure than anybody else in relation to the media. And the media, at the end of the day, they influence the people a lot - in this case the English fans. Expectation. Responsibility. They couldn't cope with it. They always had good coaches. They have another good coach again. I always think they can [win the World Cup]."

Mourinho also applauded the strength in depth possessed by France, who boast world-class attacking options including Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and more, and believes Brazil will always have a chance with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm

He said: "You look to France, and they could play with three different teams, and still be contenders. And then Spain, Argentina, Brazil, people can say they are not as talented in cups where they won, but I always say a coach like Carlo [Ancelotti] plays a role.

"You could even feel, after a bad match, a draw against Morocco, it looks like a Tsunami arrived... not for Carlo. I always believe Carlo can make a difference. Portugal are incredible, with an incredible squad too."

Ex-Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Manchester United boss Mourinho will be keeping a close eye on how Real Madrid's collection of superstars fare on the grandest of stages - having headed back to the Spanish capital on a three-year contract.

Alongside Bellingham, Mbappe and Vinicius, Aurelien Tchouameni and new arrival Ibrahima Konate form part of France’s squad, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is with Belgium, Antonio Rudiger is helping Germany, Federico Valverde is in Uruguay's ranks and summer signing Marc Cucurella is taking aim at another major honour with Spain.

Any number of those proven performers could go deep into the tournament, but Mourinho joked when asked what he is most looking forward to seeing in the remainder of World Cup action: "I want Real Madrid players to lose and go on holidays because I want the guys back to pre-season!"

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José Mourinho spoke to Beast Mode On Podcast as part of his partnership with Coca-Cola, whose Jose vs Mourinho project sees two AI versions of the iconic coach go head-to-head discussing World Cup topics daily throughout the finals.