The FIFA World Cup 2014 is coming to an end after a month of exciting footballing action with best teams from around the globe gathering in Brazil to compete for the coveted cup. The winners of semifinals – Germany and Argentina – will take on each other at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Germany will enter the competition as the favourites after beating host Brazil 7-1 in the semifinals. They topped their Group after beating Portugal and USA, and drawing with Ghana. They went on to beat Algeria 2-1 in the round of 16 before sending off France in the quarterfinals after Mats Hummels scored a lone goal.
At this point of time, Joachim Low's men are unstoppable. They are quick and any team will fear their lethal weapon – counter attack. The way they beat Brazil with a six goal margin has sent a messasge that they are here to win. They will be looking forward to beat Argentina in the finals and claim their fourth World Cup.
Argentina too are unbeaten in the competition, topping their Group F after beating Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, and Nigeria in the group stage. They beat Switzerland in the round of 16 before defeating Belgium 1-0 to book a place in the semifinals. The encounter against the Netherlands was a nerve-wrecking one, as the winner had to be decided on penalties which Alejandro Sabella's men won.
Midfielder Angel Di Maria, who has been impressive this World Cup, is expected to return to the team for the final. The Real Madrid player missed the crucial match against Netherlands due to a thigh injury.
Germany look stronger on paper but no team can underestimate Argentina. Alejandro Sabella's men didn't allow Netherlands to score in the semifinals, leaving Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie with not much space. They may come up with a strategy to stop their opponents' attack in the final match and take revenge for their defeat in 2010 World Cup.
The two teams have met on 20 occasions with Argentina winning nine, Germany seven and four draws. However, Germany beat Argentina in their last three meetings in World Cups. The final on Sunday is expected to be a closely contested match.
Interestingly, several predictions on the final game have tilted in favour of Joachim Low's men. Cortana, digital assistant on Microsoft's Windows Phones that has correctly predicted the winners of all the matches starting from kockout stage, has predicted that Germany would lift the cup on Sunday. They predicted ahead of the semifinals matches that Germany and Argentina would meet in the final.
Search giant Google has also predicted that Germany will lift the cup on Sunday. It got right in 13 out of 14 predictions, except the one between France and Germany. China's top search engine Baidu, which also has correctly predicted the results of all matches since the knockout stage, has given Germany 59 percent chance to win the title, and 41 percent to Argentina.
The odds on several betting platforms also are in favour of Germany. Here is what betting platforms have to say on the final match between Germany and Argentina, according to Betting Dictionary:
| LIST | Paddypower | William Hill | Ladbrokes | Betfred | Bet365 | Betfair | Betvictor | Winner | Sky Bet |
| Germany | 11/8 | 13/10 | 13/10 | 5/4 | 13/10 | 13/10 | 13/10 | 13/10 | 13/10 |
| Draw | 9/4 | 21/10 | 21/10 | 21/10 | 9/4 | 11/5 | 11/5 | 11/5 | 9/4 |
| Argentina | 9/4 | 23/10 | 23/10 | 9/4 | 5/2 | 12/5 | 5/2 | 12/5 | 23/10 |
Germany vs Argentina match will be telecast live in India on Sony Six & Sony Six HD at 00:30am IST Monday (2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT Sunday on ABC). You can also check out complete TV guide of the ongoing World Cup HERE.
