Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann, who resides in Southern California, tabs Argentina and Brazil as the favorites for next summer's World Cup, but includes the U.S. among his dark horse picks.
''It would be excellent for Germany and Brazil to meet in the final on July 9,'' Klinsmann said during a visit to Brazil, ''but the favorites are Brazil and Argentina.''
Klinsmann said his team would need a luck to lift its fourth World Cup. His host, Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, said Germany is ''a big favorite and Brazil's biggest challenger.''
Klinsmann told Reuters, ''Ukraine has a very good team and I think that maybe them and Mexico and the United States could spring a surprise.''
Germany has not beaten a traditional power since a 1-0 win over England in October 2000. Klinsmann blamed the Bosman ruling, which lifted foreign player limits in European leagues, and the death of street soccer for Germany's decline:
''Today all the youth soccer is played in organized tournaments, we don't have kids playing in the streets any more. But it's in street soccer where the real talent appears.''