Former Barcelona and England manager, Terry Venables, says no other country will win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil except the hosts, Brazil themselves, whom according to him are "the team to beat" in next year's finals.
Brazil, the five-time world champions and FIFA Confederations Cup holders, will open the tournament on June 12, 2014 in Sao Paulo against Croatia, and then face Mexico and Cameroun in other Group A games.
Venables feels strongly that Brazil will go all the way to the final to meet Argentina and win it with the magic wand of their manager, Felipe Scolari, who guided Brazil to win the 2002 World Cup and only recently the 2013 Confederations Cup.
"Scolari led his Samba Stars to glory in 2002 and I reckon nobody can stop him from doing it again," he observed. "The hosts really are the team to beat. They will be world champions," he argued.
Reigning world champions Spain are strong favourites to retain the trophy they won four years ago in South Africa, but the 70-year-old Englishman, now a media pundit in England, believes it will be difficult for them to win in Brazil and predicted that the Spaniards would finish as semi-finalists, with Lionel Messi's Argentina rather making the final and finishing as runners-up.
He contended: “The world and European champions are awesome and they went unbeaten in the qualifiers. But no European team has won the World Cup on South American soil. They will be semi-finalists."
"Argentina, the two-time world champions, won the South American qualifying group with superstar Messi and Higuain scoring 19 of their 35 goals. They have a formidable squad and will finish as runners-up," he added.
Venables, who was the manager of England from 1994 to 1996 as he took them to the semi-finals of Euro 96, does not give his own country any chance of even making the last four, tipping them to best perform as quarter-finalists.
"After our woeful showing in South Africa, the Three Lions will go (to Brazil) without wild expectation. This low hopes might work in boss Roy Hodgson's favour for them to get to the quarter-finals."
