England great Sol Campbell’s German bias

SINGAPORE — Former England captain Sol Campbell knows a thing or two about playing at World Cup finals, having represented his country at three successive tournaments from 1998 to 2006, earning 73 caps, so his tip for a winner in 2014 makes interesting reading.

“If Lionel Messi does not bring his best game to the Maracana, I can see Germany winning the final comfortably. By that, I mean perhaps 3-1,” Campbell told TODAY.

“I think if Messi does come with his ‘A-game’, he can win it single-handed for Argentina. The danger the Germans face is if they continue to play their extremely high defensive line. Messi could spring that trap and cause chaos, I’ve been amazed no manager has noticed that and played long balls in to the deeper wing areas. Only France did that, but their finishing was poor.”

Campbell doesn’t think this is necessarily the final world football needed: “I think this is the not the best game we could have had in the final. Surely that would have been Brazil v Argentina. That game would have been in a different solar system.”

However he did recognise that “this is probably the final that the neutral wanted, the balance of one team from Europe and one from South America, and the amazing difference between the two playing styles of the teams”.

So where will the final be won by his tips, the Germans? “They keep on grinding down their opponents to submission, and as soon as they see an opening they have taken it, and I think that’s what they’ll do against Argentina.”

Campbell was in Singapore to launch the new Arsenal kit for the coming Premiership season. The retro-style shirt made by the club’s new partner PUMA is, he thinks, a suitable nod to the rich story of the Gunners’ past. “Respecting the history and embracing the future is what this is all about, and with PUMA on board, I think they’ve got the perfect balance,” he said. BEN COLES