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Germany and Argentina face on another in a FIFA World Cup final for the third time in the competition’s history when the two sides face off at the Maracana on Sunday. The match kicks off at 21:00 (CAT) and is taking place at the Estádio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
With Germany coming from a 7-1 drumming of hosts, Brazil, and brimming with confidence, Argentina will be looking to stay solid and win a competition which they have not won since 1986, when the South Americans did so on home soil, ironically by beating West Germany 3-2.Germany will be looking to build on the spectacular performance which they fielded against Brazil, where they did not waste opportunities, scoring five goals in the first half and two in the second. They have not won the competition for 24 years and have lost the last two finals which they competed in. They will be looking to add a fourth trophy to their cabinet.
This match will be of special sentiment to Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Barcelona’s football superstar has won four Ballon d’Or awards and every competition that there is to win at club level. By winning a World Cup, he will be on par with the great Diego Maradona, leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory.
This match will be Germany’s eighth FIFA World Cup Final – more than any other footballing nation. They are currently ranked number two in the world, according to FIFA’s ranking system. They have won the trophy three times and have and have finished as runners-up a total of four times. Argentina, on the other hand, are ranked at number five according to FIFA and have won a total of three FIFA World Cup titles. They have also finished in second place on two occasions. This will be Argentina’s fifth FIFA World Cup final. They have won two and lost two of the four finals.
Argentina can feel confident about the fact that they are yet to concede a goal in the knock-out stages of the tournament this year, despite two of their fixtures going into extra time. Germany, however, have scored a total of ten goals compared to Argentina’s two in the knock-out stages. Germany are also the highest goal-scoring nation in total, having scored 223 goals in total in World Cups, recently passing Brazil’s tally of 220 when they knocked the host nation out of the competition.
