Les Bleus cruised into the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Sweden in New Jersey on Tuesday (30.06.26) and the former England defender felt that the "emphatic" display underlined their tag as favourites to lift the trophy.

Speaking on ITV Sport, Neville said: "It's a real statement. We know they're the favourites for the tournament, but what we saw was precision, devastation.

"I always look at games from a defensive perspective - those four [attacking players: Mbappe, Olise, Dembele and Barcola] that started the game will cause nightmares for every single defender at this tournament and I don't know how you stop that.

"It's a level above. Brazil won in the last minute, Germany and the Netherlands went out. They're just showing everybody in this round how to do it.

"Everything they do is emphatic. It's brilliant to watch and it's the best performance so far in the tournament.

"There's a long way to go, but you're looking at them now thinking, 'You'll let yourselves down if you don't win this', because they're so far ahead of every other team in terms of level."

Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move level with Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race and Neville likened the forward to Brazilian legend Ronaldo.

The former Manchester United player said: "Watching Mbappe in that first half, he reminds me of the Brazilian Ronaldo. It's utterly petrifying. The little shimmy. It's devastating.

"Patrick [Vieira] said the other day this is the Mbappe World Cup and I completely agree. He's just a level above. He's on the verge of greatness."

Mbappe's double took his World Cup goal tally to 18 - one behind Messi's record total - and the Real Madrid star knows "what's at stake" for his country at the tournament.

He said: "I'm fully aware of what's at stake, where I am and what I have to do. The team knows what it has to do here as well... We played well today, even though we had a difficult start."