"My general view is that Brazil are very strong favorites with Spain following them ...I think that France will do better than people think. They are underdogs, which is not normal for them, and
Italy will probably get to the semifinals."
-- Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson offers his World Cup predictions. Ferguson said England's chances of lifting the trophy
are hurt by the exhaustion of its players after a long season of fast-paced English Premier League soccer, which "is so great that it makes it more difficult for those players to perform well in the
World Cup." (Reuters)