Germany Watch: Bayern Munich great Lothar Matthäus names top contenders for the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Bayern Munich and Germany icon Lothar Matthäus has given his early predictions for the Qatar World Cup. In an interview with Goal, the former Die Mannschaft captain named Brazil and France among the frontrunners for the trophy, and is impressed with the strength in depth in Les Bleus’ roster.

“Brazil is one of the favorites,” said Loddar. “They have had a great qualifying campaign, losing points in only two games (draws). I think France is also a very good team as they have very good players, not only Mbappé. They have a team that can field at least three first XIs.”

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The 61-year old suggests England could be facing a mini-crisis in their goalkeeping position, although he has no doubt that Gareth Southgate’s men have the potential to make a deep run in the tournament. In addition, Matthäus sees Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and the Finalissima champions Argentina as teams well-equipped to mount a challenge in Qatar.

“Then we have England with a lot of good players but they lost against Hungary but still, they are a very good team,” he remarked. “Maybe they have a problem with the goalkeeping department but they have great players in other positions. Spain, Portugal, Argentina are also favorites to win the World Cup.”

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As for Germany, Der Panzer applauded Hansi Flick for transforming an inconsistent team into one of the title contenders in the space of a year.

“Germany are a good team,” he added. “They crashed out in the group stages last time but I think they are one of the favorites this time around. Hansi Flick is doing a great job with the team.”