THE BIG GUNS

GERMANY

The 2014 Fifa World Cup champions have the closest thing to a perfect squad – a team that’s strong in attackers and defenders.

The champs also have a seasoned coach in Joachim Löw. Their biggest weakness could be complacency and overconfidence – although this is the team with “Best Never Rest” emblazoned on their squad bus.

Die Mannschaft also lack an ace predator up front now that greats Miroslav Klose and JÜrgen Klinsmann are no longer part of the strikers. Yet Mario Gómez still has striking clout and there’s Timo Werner, a bright young talent who’s likely to command a hefty price after the World Cup.

BRAZIL

The South American powerhouse hosted the previous World Cup – but the team won’t have forgotten its 7-1 semifinal mauling by Germany.

Brazil’s new coach, Adenor Leonardo Bacchi ,aka Tite, has worked hard to return a sense of pride back to the team and to prepare them to cope with enormous expectations. They’ve won the World Cup five times so there’s plenty of pressure.

The big question is whether superstar Neymar will be fit for duty – he’s been out since February. Still, they have Willian, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus up front, plus flying full-backs Dani Alves and Marcelo and top goalies Alisson and Ederson.

SPAIN

The team that took the trophy in Soccer City in Jozi in 2010 will be keen to bring the silverware home once more.

Spain’s ball movement has been described as “one-touch football at a devilish speed” by rival coaches, and Argentina star Lionel Messi once said of the side “you’d rather not face them”.

Captain Sergio Ramos has plenty of experience and the rest of the La Roja line-up is nothing if not impressive: David de Gea, Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Isco, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba, Diego Costa – the list goes on.

FRANCE

Les Bleus, led by coach Didier Deschamps who captained France to World Cup victory in 1998, are strong contenders to win.

The French finished seventh in Brazil in 2014 but have made some talented additions to their squad.

Antoine Griezmann was the leading scorer with six goals at Uefa European Championship in 2016, and there’s talented youngster Kylian Mbappé, energetic midfielder N’Golo Kanté and the strong centreback pair of Raphaël Varane and Samuel Umtiti.

ARGENTINA

These guys are always contenders when it comes to the World Cup. They’ve won it twice – in 1978 and 1986 – and have been runners-up three times: 1930, 1990 and 2014.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli dramatically stated recently that his star player, Lionel Messi, will be playing “with a revolver to his head”, such is the pressure to deliver the trophy again.

The team have a wonderful range of high-class forwards, and although they were disjointed in qualification and only made it on the final day thanks to a hat-trick from Messi, they’re expected to find their feet pretty quickly.