YORK City manager Nigel Worthington reckons the work ethic and team spirit of World Cup finalists Germany is an example for any football team.

Worthington is tipping Germany to become world champions tomorrow night by beating Argentina in Rio's Maracana.

The Minstermen chief - a former international boss himself with Northern Ireland - believes Joachim Low's men have impressed most during the tournament, culminating in Tuesday night's stunning 7-1 triumph over hosts Brazil and offering his thoughts ahead of tomorrow's eagerly-anticipated contest, Worthington said: "It's hard to look past Germany at the moment.

"They have got that siege mentality, resilience and all the other things you need to take into a tournament and that's pretty much always the case in every competition they enter. They have quality players who work hard and running is not a problem for them.

"They all do it and there looks to be a great team spirit. Whether they play 4-4-2 or 4-1-4-1, it's all about the work ethic and every player puts his shift in.

"That's key and, if you look at our results in the second half of the season, we overpowered teams with our work ethic. What Costa Rica also achieved for a nation of their size, performance wise by reaching the quarter finals, showed how team spirit and a high work ethic can take you a long way.

"Argentina have good players but have been hit and miss and Germany look a better all-round package."

Worthington has also been taken by the lack of ego in the German side with high-profile names such as Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira, Mario Goetze and Per Mertesacker having been left out of the team during their successful run in South America.

On that factor, the Bootham Crescent boss added: "Some big players have been taken out of their side in this competition but they have all responded in the right way. They know they have no God-given right to a first-team place and that's how it should be.

"Football is a squad game and, if somebody needs to be left out to freshen things up, it has to be done."

Worthington does feel there is one threat to Germany's bid for a first world crown since 1990, however, if the mercurial Lionel Messi turns up with his "A game" for the Argentines.

The City manager reasoned: "Messi has shown glimpses of his ability but has not performed to the same level that he does for Barcelona. The World Cup final would be the ideal stage for him to do that now though and it would be interesting to see how Germany would deal with that."