ARGENTINA, BRAZIL AND SPAIN THE CONSENSUS WORLD CUP FAVOURITES AMONG TORONTO FC PLAYERS Toronto FC - Article | Posted on June 9/10 by Steve Bottjer

With the 19th FIFA World Cup soon to kick off and the tournament participants having completed their final warmup matches, millions of prognosticators all around the world are actively debating who the ultimate tournament winner will be in bars and workplaces and on discussion forums and social media platforms. The men that make up Toronto FC have played professional football all around the world and many have competed at the International level with national teams of their own. At the same time, they are also, first and foremost, fans of the beautiful game and their own predictions are coloured by not only their professional expertise, but also their own fandom that has developed as they have watched the tournament since they were young boys.

In polling the members of the team for their World Cup favourites, most players predicted that one of the typical powers from Europe or South America would win the tournament, while others expressed a sincere hope that an African team would have a breakthrough and do the whole continent proud.

The World Cup is a time when people can both unabashedly express pride in their ethnic heritage and align themselves with a team simply because they love the way they play.

"I think Argentina is going to win it and not just because I am from Argentina. I think they have a really good team. It's a team with very good players and the players have confidence in their coach, Maradona," says midfielder Martin Saric.

Even though the Two-time World Cup winner struggled to qualify the tournament and with many people questioning the selection of former superstar Diego Maradona as Head Coach, Saric was not alone among his teammates in predicting that La Albiceleste will be the last team standing at South Africa 2010.

"Brazil is my team for life - after Canada of course - but I have to say that Argentina has a pretty solid squad with Messi, as well as the other great players on the team. I think he is going to dictate the tempo throughout the World Cup and Argentina has to be the favourite. They are mentally strong, good on the ball and they are aggressive, so I think they have a great shot at winning the tournament," says defender Adrian Cann.

Cann's comments are commonly echoed by his teammates as the majority of the TFC players expect that the trend of a European side never winning outside of Europe will continue, with most players expecting Brazil or Argentina to win it all.

"I think Argentina is going to win because of the quality of their players. So far I think they are best, but I think there are really three favourites - Argentina, Brazil and Spain. I'm sure there will be some surprises (at the tournament) but basically I think one of those three will win," said fullback Raivis Hscanovics, while his fellow rookie defender Maxim Usanov expressed his support for Italy.

"My favourites are Italy, Argentina and Spain. I'm rooting for Italy and I hope that they will win it," stated Usanov.

Midfielder Gabe Gala concurred with his Latvian and Russian born teammates in believing that the location of the tournament definitely favours those countries accustomed to a warm climate.

"I'm rooting for Nigeria like I always do. It's where I was born, it's my country and I love them. The strongest team is Spain. Obviously Argentina is up there. Brazil is always a favourite. I don't think they have their strongest team, but Brazil is always a good team. And I have always liked Italy. So those are my teams. If I had to pick just one, I'd go with Argentina," said Gala.

The general consensus in the TFC locker room is that if any European team is going win the tournament this year, it will be Spain, who are coming off a UEFA European Championship in 2008.

"I have been a fan of Brazil ever since I was kid and that hasn't changed. I think when you have the world class calibre players that Brazil has you always have to count them as one of the favourites. Another favourite of mine would be Spain. I think they have a very good, well rounded team. However, in saying that, it's going to be interesting to see how this World Cup works out because there could be some dark horses in this year's tournament and it's going to be interesting to see which teams those are. I did pick Ivory Coast to do well, but since Drogba got injured I think they have taken the biggest blow to their chances of all the World Cup teams. In my opinion, it is between Brazil and Spain," says team captain Dwayne De Rosario.

And while he echoed his captain's prediction in citing La Furia Roja and the Samba Kings as two of his main contenders, midfielder Sam Cronin was one of the few players to list a northern european team as one of his favourites, citing his belief that the Netherlands are well placed to finally turn their attractive style of football into a World Cup win.

"I'm going for the United States. In terms of a tournament favourite, there are so many good teams, but three teams stick out in my mind - Brazil, Spain and Holland. There are certainly other teams that are capable of winning it, but going into the tournament I think that those are the three strongest," says Cronin.

Cronin's fellow American teammate, winger Jacob Peterson, echoed the common refrain that the winner would be one of Brazil, Argentina or Spain and even predicted what he thinks he will be match of the tournament.

"I'm rooting for the U.S., but the team does have a bracket going on and I picked Brazil over Argentina in the final. I think the way those two teams can keep possession playing at altitude make them the favourites. I think I picked Argentina over Spain in one of the semifinal matches and I think that might end up being the best game of the tournament," said Peterson.

Midfielder Amadou Sanyang was one player who said that he did not have a favourite for the tournament due to the fact that he is focused solely on supporting and cheering for all of the African teams.

"I am rooting for the continent of Africa. I'm hoping that all of the African teams do well and I will be very happy with the success that any of them have. Many people are predicting that Argentina will win the World Cup, but I am really just hoping that one of the African teams has a breakthrough and does really well," said Sanyang.

His fellow Gambian, defender Emmanuel Gomez was also quick to express his hope that an African team would do well while the tournament is be playing played in Africa, but he ultimately echoed the predictions of his other teammates in stating which team he thought would be celebrating on July 11th.

"In terms of the African teams, I think that Ivory Coast is going to do well. I previously thought Ghana would go the furthest (of the African teams), but I don't think that any more. They have lost Michael Essien and their captain Stephen Appiah and those two players are vital for them. So I don't see them going very far. Unfortunately, I don't think South Africa will do very well either. My favourite to win the tournament is Spain because of the calibre of players they will have playing at the tournament," said Gomez.