Former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus says his country have 'almost' no chance of winning the World Cup in South Africa and that he is unimpressed with the standard of Joachim Loew's squad.

"The problem with Germany is that they have no stars, no-one with any individual brilliance, now that Ballack is out," said Matthaus. "And their preparations have hardly been optimal."

"The loss of Michael Ballack was a blow, as he would have been a dominant personality at the tournament. And the Bayern contingent joined up with the rest of the squad very late.

"Expectations are high for Germany, but other countries have caught up fast. As I said, Germany lack the brilliant individuals who can settle a match on their own, and that's been obvious for some years now.

"But Germany have to make the quarter-finals at a minimum. Whether they go any further depends on a lot of factors. But I have Spain, Brazil and Argentina at the top of my list. They can pick from the best players in the world.

"Holland have great players too, but with the exception of 1974 and 1978, they've never really done well at the World Cup. There's a tendency for their individuals to play to the gallery, and that affects their performance as a team.

"I see Philipp Lahm as Michael Ballack's natural successor as Germany captain. But the only thing that bothers me is that he's a full-back, so by definition he's not in the midfield area."

Germany are in Group D up against Australia, Serbia and Ghana and were pre-World Cup were favourites to win the group, but injuries have had hampered their preparations and this is now one of the closest groups as far as the bookmakers are concerned.