The World Cup bug has bitten Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as well and he predicts that Spain will win the coveted tournament once again.

"It's not my favourite team but Spain will win. My sentimental favourite is England but I don't think they will win," said the University of Nottingham graduate.

"To be honest with you, I like Brazil style of playing but I think the record shows Spain will win," he said during a conversation after delivering a keynote address at the Invest Malaysia 2014 today.

Based on their excellent performance, he was confident that the Spanish team, known as "La Roja", would repeat their 2010 World Cup victory in South Africa.

The conversation was moderated by PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia’s former executive chairperson Johan Raslan.

Spain will play their opening Group B match against Netherlands on June 13 in Brazil.

The opening match for the World Cup is between host Brazil and Croatia at 4am (Malaysian time) on June 13.

Najib, who is a Manchester United fan, answered the "Who will win the World Cup?" in a challenge, where he was asked to quickly reply to three short questions by Johan.

The other two questions were:

"GST (Goods and Services Tax) in 2015? Is it really going to happen?"

"Yes," Najib said and some in the audience applauded.

"TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement), will it be signed?"

"Yes, but on our terms," Najib replied.

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