Wenger reveals thoughts

Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger has given his opinion on all the World Cup semi-finalists and their chances of holding up world football’s most prestigious prize.

Wenger said: "Of the last four teams Germany is the only one who plays with two real strikers, Podolski and Klose. (They are) very mobile, make very intelligent runs, play with each other, so that can be an advantage."

"Italy can be down to ten men and still win the game because they can absorb the shock and hit you every time they have an opportunity. They don't panic if they are dominated.

They can live with the fact that they are not mastering the game and still try to win it. They can make the maximum with what they have on the day, so that is always a very dangerous quality in a tournament."

"The art of a tournament is to start slowly without losing and finish strong. It looks like France has caught that. During the competition you have to catch that wave of success...it looks to me like France has caught that wave."

"Nobody expected Portugal in the semi final, but for me they have shown a great spirit through the competition. They are well organised at the back, they work hard for each other in midfield.

Their weakness maybe is they do not score many goals."