After winning their first four games, German confidence is sky high and a survey conducted by sports agency SID, covering 1,000 German citizens, revealed that close to 90 per cent of the country expect a win over Argentina.
Close to 53 per cent predicted a fourth the World Cup 2006 win for Germany at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on 9 July. That is in stark contrast to the pre-tournament pessimism with just nine per cent believing in a German title win after their 4-1 friendly drubbing by Italy on 1 March.
Germany's 53 per cent means the hosts see themselves as the World Cup 2006 favourites ahead of holders Brazil, who polled 25 per cent, while Argentina got six per cent of the vote. The popularity of manager Jurgen Klinsmann is also on the rise and 91 per cent said they wanted to see him stay on as coach after the World Cup 2006.
Klinsmann has yet to decide his future saying it hinges on the finals.
(Source: FIFA)
