It has probably been the greatest World Cup in the lifetime of most supporters. And, unless you have a very clear memory of 1966, there’s a very good chance that it’s been the best tournament you’ve ever seen. Of course we’re very nearly at the end, but not quite. Still to come we have Sunday, Rio de Janeiro, Germany vs Argentina, the final.
You can’t begrudge either side for getting this far. We’ve seen tournaments past where unfancied sides have made it a long way with a large slice of luck on their side, this is not one of those times. Both teams are where they are on merit. The two best teams in the competition are in the final. But of course (massive cliché AND understatement alert!) there can be only one winner. History will only remember one team.
It would be very easy to dismiss the Germans at this point. Yes, I understand, that sounds ridiculous. They just handed out the most impressive demolishing that the World Cup has ever seen. In the semi-final no less. But the media would have you believe that the only story coming out of this game was Brazil. Brazil got smashed, Brazil relied too much on Neymar and Thiago Silva, Brazil lost in their home country, Brazil let their fans down, Brazil started riots, Brazil were atrocious. Brazil, Brazil, Brazil, Brazil.
Of course all of the above is true. But the story here is the Germans. They are rolling into the World Cup final with as much momentum as is humanly possible. They have not just had a phenomenal World Cup to this point, but that semi-final performance was breath taking. Brazil couldn’t live with what Germany had to offer. Not at any point. Brazil, the one side that goes hand in hand with the World Cup, were easily and comprehensively beaten. Their truly incredible home support, the fact that they were looking to avenge their fallen comrade Neymar was all left simply irrelevant.
They have won tough games impressively, every player that has graced the pitch for them has delivered and they now boast the leading goal scorer in World Cup history. Up until now, this has been a perfect World Cup for Germany.
The second semi-final was everything that the first wasn’t. A slow, cagey game between two evenly matched sides. Very few chances were created as both sides aimed to avoid a mistake rather than make a telling contribution going forward and it seemed inevitable from the first minute that we would rely on penalties to separate the two sides. In the end it was Argentina who squeezed through.
In fairness to Argentina they completely subdued a Dutch side who had been rampant at times during the tournament. Their assault on current holders Spain showed that. The Argentinian team will hope to be able to do the same to what at this point seems an unstoppable Germany team.
It would be fair to say that Argentina haven’t necessarily lit up the tournament with eye-catching performances all the way through. But they have found the knack of winning and sometimes winning ugly. And winning is certainly not a bad habit to have.
They managed late wins against Iran in the group stages and Switzerland in the first knockout round. Both of these were games that appeared to be leaving the Argentinians frustrated but big goals at big points in the game by big players saw them through. It was Messi against Iran, it was di Maria against the Swiss.
Argentina are blessed with a number of players who, on their day, are match winners. Messi, arguably the greatest player in the world is one of them. He has found his feet at this World Cup after always being a shadow of his club-self on the international stage. Messi had to be talked out of international retirement at the age of just 24, such was his frustration, but he has been a key figure for Argentina this time around. As he always should have been.
Even if he’s not playing well he can turn a game. The same can be said of Agüero or Higuain or Lavezzi. While the much maligned Martin Demichelis has been worth his weight in gold, particularly in the semi-final.
This could well be billed as the great players against the great team. True, Germany are a great team and will probably go into this final as the favourites. But Argentina are capable of spoiling the party and will be very keen to win a World Cup on enemy soil.
At the moment the game feels like it’s a lifetime away but I’m sure the week will go quickly as we move towards the perfect close to what has been the perfect tournament.