South African midfielder Steven Pienaar has played down England's chances of winning the upcoming World Cup and thinks traditional powerhouses Germany, Italy, Argentina and Spain will be the team to watch.

According to ESPN, Pienaar maintains that England have improved under Fabio Capello, but remains cautious about how much they have developed.

"They have got the players and they've got a manager [Capello] who's finally got them to play as a team," Pienaar told South African weekly newspaper Soccer Week.

He added: "They have a reason to feel confident, definitely, because in the past there were egos in their team but they play as a team now, no more about individuals. But we have to wait and see if they can live up to the challenge. We have to do it on the field and not in the newspapers.

However, despite professing his admiration for Capello, Pienaar played down England's chances of winning the tournament.

"I'm not a fan of the England team. I think teams can get a result against England," said Pienaar.

"I have always said Argentina. Spain is also in the mix and you can never rule out Italy and Germany,'' he said. ''Italy know how to win tournaments and the Germans have a good team, so they also have a chance to win it," commented the South African playmaker.