Former German international Lothar Matthaus says that his nation has a great chance of winning the World Cup 2014 because he does not think Spain are the best possible shape right now. Spain come into the tournament as the outright favourites according to the bookmakers, but they are not stable or perfect as they have been in the last few years according to the former Inter Milan midfielder. This is due to the changes made to Spain’s style of play in order to accommodate new players. Some of the influential players over the last five years like Xavi and Carlos Puyol are also slowing down due to age.
This has put Germany and Brazil in a great position to win the tournament according to Matthaus. Spain’s victory at the 2010 World Cup was their third consecutive major title. This follows years of underachievement during which time they went without a trophy for more than four decades. Vicente del Bosque still has a lot of confusion about players for the World Cup. Even though Spain are rich in midfield, they do not have the best options up front. Germany have disappointed in recent major tournaments, but they finally have the experience and maturity to win the World Cup again.
Germany, though, have a tough group to negotiate in order to get to the latter stages of the tournament.
“Spain have won the last three major titles but they’re not as overwhelming or as stable now. That’s why I think Germany have a better chance of success than Spain. I believe Brazil and Germany are the two strongest teams, closely followed by Spain. At the 2013 Confederations Cup, Brazil showed they can handle the pressure of winning important games at home, while Germany have been consistent for several years now,” said Matthaus.