Newlyweds Steve and Michelle Smith face a major test of their marriage today ? thanks to a football match.

For Steve is an avid England fan and Michelle is plumping for Portugal in the crunch World Cup quarter-final clash that will have thousands of soccer fans across Bermuda glued to a television screen.

But the couple who tied the knot just over a month ago are confident they won?t be heading to the divorce courts when the final whistle sounds in the eagerly anticipated game.

And Michelle, a Bermudian whose family hails from the Azores, played down the rivalry. She believes that no matter who triumphs in Saturday?s edge of the seat showdown, she will be on to a winner. ?I figure I can?t lose,? she told . ?Either way somebody is going to be happy. If England win it will be my husband, if Portugal win it will be my family.?

Steve, 33, who has worked in Bermuda for six years, said: ?Michelle?s dad is driving around with one Portugal flag and one England flag in his car, but her mum is strictly Portuguese.

?Michelle is taking the Portuguese side as well, despite me saying she should be taking my side.?

The MR Onions coach and Bank of Bermuda worker added: ?Michelle is trying to get me to watch the match at her parents? house, but I?m going to be slightly overwhelmed by the large Portuguese contingent in her family.

?I?ll probably go round... but take a big England flag.?

He said that if England lost while continuing to play poorly he would be annoyed. However, he predicted that the crockery would stay on the shelf in the Smith household even if Sven?s men crashed out of the cup.

Insurance worker Michelle predicted the family atmosphere during today?s match would be very good humoured.

That might be the case in Bermuda, but might not be so in the tranquil British island of Jersey.

Police there are mounting a major security operation to prevent a repeat of trouble that flared after the two sides last locked horns in 2004, when Portugal triumphed in a nail-biting penalty shootout.

About six percent of the population of Jersey were born in Portugal ? more than 5,000 people on a 45-square-mile island of just less than 90,000 inhabitants. Hundreds of rival fans gathered after the match two years ago in St. Helier, the island?s main town.

England supporters chanted racist abuse and threw bottles, cans and coins at Portugal supporters and riot police deployed CS gas and made 14 arrests, a troubling incident for an island rarely afflicted by serious crime.

Those kind of public clashes are not worrying Bermuda Police, who expect the thousands of English and Portuguese fans to keep mixing in high spirits.

Major bars are also expecting a trouble-free afternoon, despite the high soccer stakes.

?I?m expecting a full house with fans from both teams,? said Robin Hood manager Jillian Brisson. ?It?s going to be a wonderful atmosphere, like last time the two teams met. ?It?s electric but it will be very good-natured. I?m always impartial. I?ll just keep serving the beer.?

Phil Talbot, of MR Onions, said he expected up to 250 fans to cram into his bar. ?We get a lot of Portugal and England fans here; it?s going to be a good game. In 2004 it was crazy. I expect the same on Saturday.?

Ricardo Pratas, secretary of the Vasco Da Gama Club, also predicted that venue would be jam-packed. ?2004 was amazing and this will be a great game.?

He said that both teams would be without key players ? Deco for Portugal and Owen for England ? but he was still confident his heroes would progress to the last four.

And in a comment that neatly sums up the sporting respect between the two nations, he added: ?Even the English are welcome here. It?s just a football game ? it?s not a war.?