France's Silvestre picks Germany to win World Cup

Gurgaon, July 7 (IANS) Former France and ex-Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre feels Germany have all that it needs to lift the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Silvestre told IANS that 'Mannschaft', as the German team is known, are the most reliable and the balanced team in the World Cup.

"I think Germany may win the World Cup. They are the most reliable and balanced team in the World Cup. They have some good players on the bench who can make the difference. I am not sure about Brazil (Germany's opponents in the semi-final). But they (Germany) surely have the best bench. They have a strong spine in (Manuel) Neuer, (Bastian) Schweinsteiger, Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose," said Silvestre on the sidelines of the inauguration of Manchester United's team jersey by shirt sponsor Chevrolet here Monday.

The Frenchman feels that Germany may face Argentina in the final. Argentina will be facing the Netherlands in the semi-final.

"I feel Argentina would be the other team in the final. Messi has been inspiring and scoring goals for Argentina. They showed a strong performance against Belgium in a tough match and that is what big teams do when the situation arises," said Silvestre.

The TV pundit is surprised with the lacklustre performance of the host Brazil, who are eyeing their record sixth World Cup title. Silvestre feels that without Neymar, Brazil have a tough chance.

"Neymar was the only one who was producing the goals for Brazil. But I dont think this is the same Brazil that won the Confederations Cup last year. Well it can change...but I doubt it because they are too inconsistent. They have just 90 minutes or a bit more to prove us wrong," he said.

But Silvestre was impressed with the performance of Argentine captian Lionel Messi.

"There is a big difference in the Messi that we saw in South Africa and now in Brazil. It is all because of the preparations that he underwent before the World Cup. He had two months of injury and it helped him to rest. Also he has not done a lot of running for Barcelona this season in the Champions League. He is fresh and he is in perfect shape," he said.

Silvestre was also happy for the fact that players, who ply their trade in the Premier League were doing well in the World Cup.

"That shows the quality of the League. There is no doubt that it is the toughest and the most competitive team in the world. All the big stars in the Premier League were involved in the World Cup," he said.

Silvestre also hoped that his former club United ropes in Colombian star James Rodrigues.

"I have seen him in Monaco but never expected him to shine that much at the world stage. Imagine if (Radamel) Falcao was not injured, they would have really made a difference for Colombia to challenge for the title," he said.