Cambodia's PM Hun Sen.[filephoto]

"Congratulations Germany!," Hun Sen, speaking in English, told bemused foreign diplomats and businessmen attending an investment seminar in the capital Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

"I bless Germany to win the World Cup," he told the group which included ambassadors from Cup contenders Germany, England, Japan, South Korea, France and Australia.

Soccer fever has gripped the war-scarred southeast Asian nation, with Cambodians from every walk of life staying up into the small hours of the night to watch their favourite teams.

Hun Sen, a one-eyed former Khmer Rouge soldier, said he won a verbal bet with a cabinet colleague after Germany's 3-0 romp over Ecuador on Tuesday.

He recently urged his impoverished people not to place bets on the tournament, saying it was probably a bad idea.

"Just bet verbally, for fun. Don't sell your cows to bet on games of football," he told farmers last week