Aside from the slightly irritating, slightly endearing 'Football's coming home' chant / song, there is another reason for England fans to be wary of World Cup matches, beyond the 56 years of hurt since their last and only World Cup win.

If you take these things seriously, the choice of broadcaster for games may have an impact on the result.

My colleague Simon Smale has an explanation:

"Traditionally, the TV coverage of England's matches at major tournaments are split between the BBC and commercial station, ITV.

Since 1998, the split has been remarkably even over those 24 years of often painful and angst-ridden viewing: 16 matches on the BBC, 15 on ITV — with both broadcasters showing five games each in the knockout phase of those tournaments.

Surely it makes no difference whatsoever what channel a match being played overseas is shown back home though, right?

Wrong.

When an England World Cup match is shown on the BBC, England has a remarkable 75 per cent winning record.

On ITV that falls to just 13.33 per cent."

You might be able to guess which broadcaster is showing the game in England - ITV. You can read more about all this, and the reasons for England fans having a nervy morning ahead, in Simon's story here.