Lothar Matthaus declared in the media that Germany should very much fear England, if they were to meet in the knock-out stages.

Due to the group distribution, England will face Germany in the first knock-out stage, unless both teams win their group. If Germany does not have any fears, being in a very accessible group, England could be the runner-ups in their group if Sweden makes a great World Cup.

Former Partisan Belgrade coach, Lothar Matthaus, believes that if the two teams were to meet, Germany wouldn't stand a chance, at least on how things are looking at the time being. With Rooney in the first line-up, Matthaus considers England one of the main favorites for the crown.

"England are my favorites from Europe. They have great players - Wayne Rooney could be the outstanding young player of the World Cup, and then there is Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and David Beckham," said the German legend.

As far as Brazil is concerned, Matthaus believes that their defense won't keep the pace with their offence, and will fail to help the team conquer their 6th World Cup in history. "Brazil's defense is a big problem - they do not have the quality there to win the title and they might even have a problem getting out of their group," concluded Matthaus, who also added that Argentina is the most powerful team outside Europe.