FEW would argue that Clyde Best was the best footballer Bermuda has ever produced. And as the first black player to make a major impact in English football, he not only earned himself a place in soccer history, but was also a pioneer who blazed a trail that many have since followed. Best left Bermuda in 1968 as a 17-year-old, proved himself in trials with West Ham United and stayed with the London top-flight club for seven years, scoring 47 goals in 188 appearances. He played alongside the likes of England World Cup winners Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters at Upton Park. He went on to play for Feyenoord in Holland and then moved to the United States where he played for Portland and Tampa in the old North American Soccer League. He returned home from the US to work as coach and technical director of the national team, but after three years in the job his contract was not renewed by the Bermuda Football Association in controversial circumstances. He still has impressive contacts in world soccer. So who in Bermuda is more qualified to offer an informed opinion on the World Cup? This week, Best starts a column in which he will share his World Cup thoughts with Mid-Ocean News readers.

"EVERYONE is talking about France and Argentina being the favourites to lift the solid gold FIFA World Cup trophy in Yokohama on June 30 - but you should never underestimate Brazil. No-one seems to expect them to do anything this time, so there is less pressure on them than usual. And I expect them to play their samba style of football with overlapping fullbacks Roberto Carlos and Cafu pushing forward.

I saw them play against a Catalan XI the other day and the way they played - without Rivaldo or Roberto Carlos - should be a warning to everyone. They have an exciting young forward called Ronaldinho, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.

I've watched him play since he was in the under-17s and it was obvious then that it would only be a matter of time before he set the world alight. He's young, quick and superb when he runs at people and the fact he's not afraid to pick up the ball and take penalties when he's in the same team as Ronaldo and Rivaldo tells you a lot about his confidence.

The world champions France are also leading contenders. With France you are looking at a team of proven players. My one concern with them is a lack of pace down the middle. Their central defenders Marcel Desailly and Franck Leboeuf are both well into their 30s and I can see them struggling against forwards with pace.

Zinedine Zidane is injured for at least the first match and a lot will depend on whether they can keep further injuries from the door. If they do, I'm sure they will go a long way in the tournament because they have oodles of talent.

Argentina are another good bet to do well because they have a team with South American flair who can play like Europeans. They are strong right through the team. They have fantastic defenders, unbelievable midfielders and in Hernan Crespo, Gabriel Batistuta and Daniel Ortega they have some great players up front.

Juan Sebastien Veron has had his critics during his first season playing in England with Manchester United. But anyone who knows anything about football can see he can play. People need to understand that it takes time when you move to a different country to get used to a different style of play.

Veron has nothing to prove, as he has done it all before on the world stage. You can see from some of the fantastic passes he plays that he's a class player. He makes the game look easy. I think the problem at Manchester United is Roy Keane, who is trying to spray the ball around like Veron instead of doing his job of getting stuck in, the job he is good at.

Talking of Keane, the Ireland captain, I thought his coach Mick McCarthy had no option but to send him home. The coach is the man in charge, it's as simple as that. Pele and Johann Cruyff were much better players than Roy Keane, but they never did anything like that, so why should he?

If a player had mouthed off at the coach in my day, he would probably have never played again. It's a different era now, of course, when players are earning a lot more money so they probably feel they can do what they want. If you want to play, you should still have respect for your coach and fellow players.

As for England, I think they can do well, but it will be difficult for them especially with the injured Liverpool player Steven Gerard. For my money, Gerard is one of the best all-round midfielders in the world and England will miss him.

Gerard has so much energy and covers so much ground and he has all the attributes a good footballer needs. He gets up and down the field quickly and so is able to attack and defend, he's got a good shot and he's a good passer of the ball. He can head well too and he's never afraid to get a foot in. Anyone could see all that from his superb performance in England's 5-1 win in Germany in the World Cup qualifiers.

Much has been said about David Beckham and Beckham is a good player in his position. But I believe Gerard is a more complete midfielder.

England have a good team and although they in a very tough group with Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria, anything is possible. One of their strengths is that they have three class goalkeepers and down the middle the team looks pretty sound.

Another nation that has traditionally done well in the World Cup is Italy and they may be a threat again. They are always excellent defensively and well organised. If there is one team that can close the door on you, it's Italy.

Personally though, I'd rather see the people who come to play exciting football do well. I don't want to see dull, boring games in the World Cup.

I think the African countries will continue their progress in this World Cup, particularly Cameroon and Nigeria. They have a lot of players playing for top clubs in Europe nowadays and they know what is required at the top level.

But what impresses me most about them is that their players are big and strong and have pace. Pace is so important in football and it's not something you can coach, it's something you're born with.

Also the African players are used to playing in a hot climate, so will have no problems with the heat and humidity out in Japan and South Korea.

The heat may play a part in how some matches go. Obviously the conditions will always be the same for both teams, but I remember from my playing days in Tampa that some opponents used to come down there and you could see they thought it was too hot to play. So we would go out and try to run them into the ground in the first ten minutes and before you knew it the game was over.

Anything could happen and on any given day a good side could lose to a lesser side. But my favourites to win are Brazil, though you cannot underestimate France and Argentina."