Vincent Kompany believes Belgium could be the World Cup's surprise package this summer and feels his team have the ability to win the tournament.
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The Manchester City defender will captain the Red Devils, who are playing in their first World Cup since 2002 and face Algeria, Russia and South Korea in Group B.
But while reigning champions Spain, hosts Brazil and teams such as Germany and Argentina are considered favourites for the tournament, Kompany, 28, believes he and his teammates can cause an upset.
"There are four or five nations who are favourites every time, then a group of teams who can do something great, like Chile, like Colombia, and I think Belgium are in that group of teams who can surprise," he told a news conference. "We have great players and a great team spirit as well."
Kompany welcomed Belgium coach Marc Wilmots' decision to select the uncapped Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj in his World Cup squad.
Januzaj, 19, who was eligible to represent several countries, only declared for Belgium last month.
Everton forward Kevin Mirallas had questioned whether it was right to parachute him straight into the World Cup squad, suggesting Euro 2016 was a more logical time for the youngster to make his debut at a major international tournament.
But Kompany said: "Everyone is, first of all, happy to be in the selection. Then ultimately it is the manager's job to make a decision, and I think we are all quite happy to just leave it to the manager and trust him for the decisions he makes.
"We have great players in the team so hopefully for the World Cup we will have a great performance as well. We are just always happy to welcome new players, always."