A survey conducted last week by China Youth Daily shows that a majority of respondents (24.0%) predict that Argentina will win the World Cup in Brazil. Argentina was followed by Brazil (21.7%), Germany (19.6%), Netherlands (4%) and France (2.1%). Almost 40,000 people responded to the survey.

He Xiaodong, a fan of Argentina said: "Argentina started very well this year with 2-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the opener. Captain Messi played extraordinarily well and broke his 8-year World Cup final stages scoring duck. With Messi, Argentina's attack carries plenty of threat."

Yao Bainan is a fan of Brazil. Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup history. "Brazil won the competition in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. It has the most World Cup titles in the world. This year, Brazilians have climate and geography on their side, and they have home advantage. I believe they will win."

When asked about Chinese football, 73.6% of respondents are pessimistic about the prospects of seeing the Chinese football team reach the World Cup final stages. Only 14.6% of respondents believe that it will happen.