And the World Cup winner is... England!

When Portugal play the Ivory Coast on 15 June in Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, FC Chelsea fans will feel at home watching the game. The match will see Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira compete against their London club teammates Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba.

The big question is whether any of the England-based players can do what France did in 1998. Back then, Arsenal's Patrick Viera and Emmanuel Petit, along with Chelsea's Frank Leboeuf, were part of the French team that won the World Cup. According to some English bookmakers, Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina, as well as Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas, could do the same this year with Spain.

Torres says that playing in England has helped his game tremendously. "As a competition, the Premier League is the best," he told the Daily Mail. "When you are talking about organization, respect and having all the stadiums full every weekend, it is really nice to see that."