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It has been a long and impressive road for both final competitors and now Germany and Argentina are set to lock horns in a match that has all the elements of a World Cup classic. The Germans are looking to finish something that they have started since 2010 whereas the Argentines are determined to return to the top by avenging an embarrassing 4-0 thrashing by the same opponents, which happened four years ago.
Germany manager Joachim Low is fortunate enough to have all hands on deck and is expected to feature the same line-up he did against Brazil with legendary striker Miroslav Klose up front with the support of Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil behind him. Defender Mats Hummels has been dealing with tendonitis but is expected to compete.
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella saw Real Madrid player Angel Di Maria return to light training but remains extremely doubtful to start after suffering from a thigh injury. However, Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero has completely recovered and could start instead of Ezequiel Lavezzi or even Gonzalo Higuain. Left-back Marcos Rojo is dealing with a sore ankle that would not allow him to complete training on Friday but he is nevertheless considered fit enough for the final.
Show all 19 1 /19World Cup finals - In pictures World Cup finals - In pictures 1930: Uruguay 4-2 Argentina The first World Cup final set a tough act for subsequent games to follow. Before a crowd of 93000 adoring fans in the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, hosts Uruguay trailed 2-1 at half-time against their bitter neighbours Uruguay but clawed their way back to win 4-2. Thousands of Argentine supporters had made the short journey across the River Plate to the Uruguayan capital in the expectation of seeing their heroes victorious. They had to wait a little while, however- the final was delayed after both teams insisted upon using their own ball.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1934: Italy 2-1 Czechoslovakia The second World Cup final was the first that failed to be decided within 90 minutes. Again the host nation made it to the final in Rome, where they were watched by Benito Mussolini and tens of thousands of screaming tifosi. The technical Czechs struck first through winger Antonin Puc and held on until the 81st minute, when the Argentine-born Raimundo Orsi curled in an equaliser. With the great Giuseppe Meazza limping, Italy looked in dire straits heading into extra-time- but in the 95th minute they forced an unlikely winner.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1938: Italy 4-2 Hungary Paris’ Stade Olimpique de Colombes hosted one of the great World Cup games. In their second successive final the Italians took the lead after six minutes after fine play from Meazza. Hungary took just two minutes to level proceedings through Pal Titkos, but in the 16th minute Meazza again turned creator to give Italy a lead they would not let go. With 20 minutes remaining the Hugarian captain Gyorgy Sarosi broke away to make it 3-2, but another Italian goal ensured back-to-back Azzurri world titles.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1950: Brazil 1-2 Uruguay This was, up until yesterday, Brazil’s greatest footballing tragedy. The hosts were so confident of victory that they hired a samba band to stand by the side of the Maracana pitch, ready to play a new song called ‘Brazil the Winners’ after their inevitable victory. Things started off well: Brazil took the lead two minutes into the second half, but a quarter of an hour later a resurgent Uruguay equalised. Then, almost unbelievably, with 11 minutes to go they took the lead and held it until the end. A final memorable as much for Brazilian hubris as for the football on display-and an echo of yesterday’s loss in so many ways.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1954: West Germany 3-2 Hungary The highest point for the ‘Magical Magyars’ of Ferenc Puskas and Nandor Hidegkuti was also their lowest hour. This is the match known as the ‘Miracle of Bern’, when the underdog West Germans snuck past a seemingly imperious Hungary side. The group-stage game between the two had ended 8-3 in favour of the Hungarians, who had arrived in Switzerland as the favourites and progressed serenely to the final. Their subsequent 3-2 defeat would go down in history as perhaps the most famous game in the history of German football- and Hungary would never get so close to the Jules Rimet trophy again.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1958: Sweden 2-5 Brazil For the fourth time in six World Cups, the hosts reached the climax to the tournament. The final in Solna was a one-sided affair as the Brazilians ran riot, putting five past the Swedish goalkeeper Kalle Svensson. Pelé netted twice to add to a brace from Vava and a goal by the ‘Little Amnt’ Mario Zagallo, later to become a World Cup winner as a coach. The final was overshadowed in quality by a memorable semi between Brazil and the brilliant French led by Juste Fontaine.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1962: Brazil 3-1 Czechoslovakia Brazil lacked their icon for this final in Santiago. But in Pelé’s absence Garrincha starred, scoring four times including a crucial goal in the final in which Brazil trailed. As they had four years earlier they hit back almost immediately through Amarildo, brought into the side earlier in the tournament following Pelé’s injury. The game ended 3-1- not a classic like some of the earlier finals, but memorable in a sense for the manner in which the Brazilians rallied without their star. Another unfortunate parallel with 2014…
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1966: England 4-2 West Germany The most famous final of all, for those of an English persuasion. Nearly half a century on no England team has come close to emulating Alf Ramsay’s ‘Wingless Wonders’, who beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley through Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick- still the only treble ever scored in a World Cup final- and that much-disputed third goal that many Germans still claim never crossed the line. This was a thrilling final made greater by its position within our national footballing consciousness, as well as the failures of subsequent generations to live up to its legacy.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1970: Brazil 4-1 Italy Perhaps the greatest World Cup final ever from a neutral standpoint. The best Brazilian side in history demolished the Italy of Facchetti and Rivera in the pounding heat of Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca- but the game will always be remembered for the fourth and final Brazilian goal. Eight Brazil players touched the ball in the build-up before Pelé drew the defence and slipped a pass to Carlos Alberto, who hammered a low shot into the far corner.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1974: West Germany 2-1 Netherlands The one the Dutch let get away- and have regretted ever since. The 1974 final pitted the Netherlands of Cruyff, Neeskens and Krol against Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller- and it was one for the ages. The Dutch struck first and appeared to be in control- until their grip on the game hardened into arrogance and the Germans struck back with a hotly-disputed Paul Breitner penalty. Then Müller won it with the kind of poacher’s goal that was his hallmark- and in doing so, left an indelible stain on the Dutch footballing mentality that persists to this day.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1978: Argentina 3-1 Netherlands A last, glorious bow for the great Dutch side of the 1970s- and a controversial victory for Argentina in a World Cup where the Argentine military junta were never far from proceedings. Mario Kempes scored twice, one in normal and one in extra-time and was named man of the match. But the Dutch accused the Argentines of underhand tactics- this final is remembered for the oppressive atmosphere that surrounded it more than the sporting spectacle.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1982: Italy 3-1 West Germany An iconic final, if only for Marco Tardelli’s celebration of manic joy upon putting Italy 2-0 in front. West Germany were never in the game, and Paul Breitner’s 83rd minute strike was hardly even a consolation. At 40, Dino Zoff became the oldest player to win the World Cup after one of the most memorable finals in the tournament’s storied history.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1986: Argentina 3-2 West Germany It seems strange to say given their unerringly consistent record, but Germany were persistent failures at World Cups in the 1980s. In the same Estadio Azteca that had hosted the 1970 final they fell behind to a Jose Luis Brown goal. Their sense of doom was compounded after Diego Maradona played Jorge Burruchaga in for the winning goal with a pass plucked from genius’ pocket- before that the Germans had scored twice to level the final from a seemingly impossible position.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1990: Argentina 0-1 West Germany Their final four years before had been one of the best ever- but the rematch was as dour as 1986 was vibrant. The Argentines ended with nine men after Monzon and Dezotti were dismissed, in a bad-tempered final that was a microcosm of a cynical tournament. Full-back Andreas Brehme scored the only goal of perhaps the first ‘bad’ World Cup final.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1994: Brazil 0-0 Italy (a.e.t., Brazil win 3-2 on penalties) The first final to end goalless after normal time- and the first to go to the great lottery of the penalty shootout. USA 94 pitted Dunga’s uncompromising and tactically-savvy Brazil against an Italy inspired by the ‘Divine Ponytail’, Roberto Baggio. It was Baggio’s penalty miss that decided the final- he blasted the ball far over the bar into the Californian sky. It’s an image with which one of the world’s great players will forever be unfairly tarnished. The final itself, as the scoreline suggests, was the second dull one in a row.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 1998: France 3-0 Brazil The intertwining storylines in this one far outstrip the quality of the game itself. Zidane inspired the French to a veritable stroll of a victory, but the real drama was played out before the match. Brazil’s star, Ronaldo was unwell yet was forced to play- by the team, by the sponsors or by himself, or perhaps a combination of all three- and in the game he was a ghostlike influence as his side were pulverized by the Tricolores.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 2002: Brazil 2-0 Germany The 2002 final brought a comprehensive victory for a Brazil side carried to victory by a rejuvenated Ronaldo. It was comprehensively dull, too- Germany had scraped their way to get there bbut in the game itself they barely had a sniff. We’re now well within the sequence of poor-quality finals.
World Cup finals - In pictures 2006: Italy 1-1 France (a.e.t., Italy win 5-3 on penalties) Somehow, Marcelo Lippi and Fabio Cannavaro dragged Italy kicking and screaming to a third world title after a buildup dominated by revelations from the Calciopoli scandal. The final could best be described as middling- the real action occurred within the space of a mad second as Zidane signed off his international career in violent style with a ram-like headbutt to the chest of Marco Materazzi, who had earlier opened the scoring for Italy.
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World Cup finals - In pictures 2010: Spain 1-0 Netherlands Andrès Iniesta’s extra-time strike settled what was less a football game than a recreation of the Trojan War. Having decided there was no way they could compete on footballing terms, the Dutch instructed Nigel de Jon and Mark van Bommel to act as trained assassins-the studded chest of Xabi Alonso was the natural outcome. Not a fondly-recalled final.
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KICK-OFF: Sunday, 8pm
PAST THREE MEETINGS:
Germany 1 (Howedes) Argentina 3 (Khedira og, Messi, Di Maria), International Friendly, August 2012
Argentina 0 Germany 4 (Muller, Klose, Friedrich), World Cup, July 2010
Germany 0 Argentina 1 (Higuain), International Friendly, March 2010
STATS:
Germany have won the World Cup three times whereas Argentina have triumphed twice.
Ever since the fall of the Berlin wall, both sides have competed with each other eight times where Argentina won four matches and picked up just one defeat which occurred at the last World Cup.
Germany striker Miroslav Klose became the all-time top scorer in the history of the World Cup last Tuesday as he now counts 16 goals in the competition, one more than Brazil legend Ronaldo.
Bayern Munich player Thomas Muller has picked up 10 goals and six assists in 12 World Cup appearances.
If Argentina win then they will become the oldest World Cup winners ever with an average age of just under 29 – Italy’s 2006 squad holds the record.
The Albiceleste’s superstar Lionel Messi surpassed Diego Maradona in international appearances last Wednesday and now the Barcelona forward will be picking up his 93 national cap.
CLASSIC MOMENT/MATCH:
The dominant Germany machine of 2010 destroyed Argentina at the World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa. The Albiceleste were led by legendary Diego Maradona who saw his side getting crashed 4-0, which ultimately led to his departure as manager.
TV: Live on ITV and BBC One at 8pm
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