"The manager suggested that 10 of their players could be present or past team-mates of our players, so we know them very well," said Owen. "We'll go into the game thinking that we're on their level, not thinking that we'll just try to hold them to a draw. We play against them every week so we're not fearful.
"You'd fall by the wayside if you were standing there during the national anthem and thinking 'I'd love to be like him'. We're happy with our lot. We'll show France plenty of respect but we're not in awe of them. They may have some fantastic individuals but we're not going to build them up higher than they should be built up.
"They are a fantastic team and I think they're better than Brazil. I think they're the best team in the world at the moment. But I'm conscious not to over-hype them more than they deserve. I'm so confident in our players - the likes of Sol Campbell, John Terry or whoever might come in if he's injured - that they're good enough to hold their own."