Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Xavi, Wesley Sneijder, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Kaka and the incomparable Lionel Messi.

Has there ever been a World Cup in which so many individual stars promise to illuminate football in its brightest hue?

It is doubtful.

We have had 1966 with Bobby Charlton, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer. We have had 1970 with Pele and Jairzinho.

There was Johan Cruyff in 1974, Mario Kempes in 1978, the best and worst of Diego Maradona in 1986, the tears of Paul Gascoigne in 1990, Zinedine Zidane in 1998, the beefy Ronaldo in 2002 and no one in particular apart from Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.

But this time in South Africa, injury and fitness permitting, football's most prominent names are set to dazzle.

It is the perfect stage for Portugal's Ronaldo. Since swapping Manchester for Madrid the goals have still come with impressive frequency, the free-kicks are still rifled home via impossible trajectories and he is still capable of winning matches virtually single-handedly. His problem is that Portugal do not have the strength in depth to support him.

The same could be said of Drogba, who could spring a surprise or two with the Ivory Coast under the new management of Sven-Goran Eriksson after a disappointing African Nations Cup campaign. They are ones to watch.

Then there is Rooney, the England striker who carried Manchester United with his prolific strike rate for most of the season.

With Rooney in his recent inventive form England have a real chance of progressing past the quarter-final stage which has been their settling ground for the past decade.

He does not have the tricks of Ronaldo, but his work ethic is unrivalled and his influence in lifting those around him could be crucial to a Fabio Capello team which lacks real imagination.

If Rooney clicks into one of those purple patches of the past season, then England have the fire power to trouble the world's best.

But then we could say the same of Lionel Messi and Argentina.

Messi is the best footballer on the planet, the successor to Pele and Maradona. That is certain. His four goals for Barcelona in the Champions League quarter final against Arsenal in April was proof.

Can he do a Maradona and take Argentina all the way? Ironically, that depends on Maradona, the coach of Argentina who has yet to demonstrate that he can motivate and organise a side with the same instinct with which he played.

For that reason the odds are weighted against Argentina.

The fact is that Messi will have no Andres Iniesta. No Xavi to supply his ammunition. Messi will sparkle, how could he not, but the chances are he will not lift football's greatest trophy.

Teams win World Cups, not individuals.

And while the likes of Italy and Germany doubtless will wear their tournament hats as usual and teams such as Holland will be dangerous floaters, there are two sides which stand head and shoulders above the others.

They are Brazil and Spain.

True, Spain have a habit of folding like a cheap suit whenever a tournament reaches its business end.

But this time they have a formidable spine. A classy goalkeeper in Iker Casillas, a defence run with the experience of Carles Puyol, the most inventive midfielders around in Iniesta and Xavi and up front a strikeforce led by Torres and David Villa.

Much will depend on whether Liverpool's Torres is fully fit following his knee operation in April and whether he can take his top form into the tournament following a frustrating season at Anfield.

Even so Spain have back-up in Villa. They have talent to burn, strength in depth, qualities England are conspicuously lacking.

Spain could go all the way but the chances are that they will not. It is more likely the canary yellow jerseys of Brazil will work their magic once more in South Africa.

It is not the greatest Brazil side. In terms of panache they pale in comparison to the great side of 1970. They do not have a Zico either. Or a Socrates, never mind a Pele, a Jairzinho, a Rivelino or a Garrincha.

But they have a manager in Dunga, their former captain and no-nonsense midfielder, who has staked his reputation on pragmatism.

They do not thrill as once they did but there is a balance and determination about their play.

In Inter Milan's Julio Cesar they have one of the tournament's top goalkeepers, who some rate as the best in the world. In Lucio, also from Inter, they have experience and polish at the heart of their defence as he showed for the Italians when knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League.

And they are not short on inspiration either. Real Madrid's Kaka will want to prove he is still one of the world's greatest creators. Luis Fabiano is a proven goalscorer and Robinho is primed to show he is more than just the show pony he appeared to be at Manchester City before leaving for a loan spell at Santos last season.

This is a Brazil side which makes up for the peripheral flair of old with drive and desire.

That is why the smart money says that on July 11 in Soccer City, Johannesburg, they will win their sixth World Cup, even though they have to negotiate a tough group phase which comprises Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea.