Man. You don't hate Germany...you loathe Germany! I have always loved the German side. Always play like a well oiled machine. They always seem to have the least athletic players but still wind up a solid bunch. I think the French's best days are behind them even though I was impressed with the U20 team I saw the other day, but I can't put my finger on them. They are just blah. As far as European teams are concerned, Spain, Germany, and Italy will always have a shot at the World Cup. I'm not sure what clicked for Spain to all of a sudden start winning tournaments on the national level, but for all 3, they have the leagues that are the most homegrown. Stars in the Serie A are Italian, stars in the Bundesliga league are German, etc unlike the Premier league where the majority of stars are non-English