Brazil are the team to beat now, says James

World Cup balls routinely come under criticism from goalkeepers for being too unpredictable in flight and instability but former England custodian David James believes the Adidas Telstar 18 in use in Russia is the “best” in recent editions of the tournament.

James, capped 53 times by his country, now a pundit for tournament broadcasters Sony, shared his views on several key issues arising from Russia. Excerpts: mistakes committed by the keepers. In general the standard has been very good. I have played with the ball and can say this is the best World Cup ball that I can remember. By far, it is a lovely ball to kick and hold. For the keepers it is a fantastic feeling to play with it. We have seen some fantastic goals scored and it is also as a result of the ball’s quality. They were expected to beat Tunisia and Panama. Gareth Southgate has a young squad. Against Belgium he had an opportunity to see his young players play. The defeat against Belgium was a good lesson for the team and Gareth will learn

from them. A lot of people are scared to make predictions. Phillipe Coutinho could be the player of the tournament so Brazil obviously are the team to beat now. Croatia topped their group, they look strong. Belgium are also on form. Historically the teams that win their group win the World Cup, not the team qualifying second. So you can take your pick. Germany going out was a shock for everybody. But we will still have a wonderful mix of teams. I don’t like it. Ideally, if it is perfect, if VAR made every decision accurate then it’s OK. But it doesn’t so we have inconsistencies. We will see more of it in internationals and Premier League matches. But I prefer the referee making a decision on the spot rather than having to refer it to any system. Hugo Loris was the archetypal sweeper keeper for Tottenham because of their formation and defensive strength. But he doesn’t need to be that type of keeper for France. So it depends on the defensive strength of the team.