Argentina just defeated Netherlands 4-2 in a penalty shootout after both teams went scoreless in regulation and extra time. Netherlands defense was able to shut down Lionel Messi and company, but they couldn’t score a goal themselves. Their defense did great, but their offense did not. Yesterday, Germany defeated Brazil in a heartbreaking 7-1 blowout. The Germans ended the first half 5-0 and they just couldn’t stop scoring the whole game. Neymar was absent because of a back injury and Thiago Silva was suspended because he picked up too many yellow cards. Those two players were the main reason why Brazil couldn’t deliver in the semi-final.
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Now it is Argentina and Germany meeting in the FIFA World Cup Final for a third time. The first time they met was in 1986 and Argentina won that round 3-2. Then the very next World Cup in 1990, Germany got their revenge and beat the Argentinians 1-0. Argentina has a total of two World Cup championships while Germany has three. Now it will be best two-out-of-three in this meeting for the World Cup Final.
Germany has scored the most goals out of any team in the World Cup this year with 17. That last match with Brazil probably helped out a little bit. Thomas Muller is second among all players with five goals to his name and is also credited with three assists. He will be the player that Argentina has to look out for. Miroslav Klose has a record 16 World Cup goals in his career, scoring two of them in this World Cup. Andre Schuerrle has three goals for Germany and Toni Kroos has two for his team. With a stacked team like Germany to face, Argentina will have a lot to deal with defensively.
As for the Argentinians, they have arguably the best soccer player in the world on their team, Lionel Messi. The 27-year-old superstar has four goals and an assist in this year’s World Cup. He has carried his team all the way to the Finals and now it’s time to see if he can do it one more time. He hasn’t had much help on offense, so he will have to rely on his defenders to keep Argentina in the game.
It’s going to be tough to call this one, but after seeing Germany destroy Brazil in the semi-finals, I have to go with them to win the World Cup. Look for Germany to score early and put Argentina in a position where they have to make hurried decisions in order to catch up. Argentina’s bad decision-making and lack of depth will be their downfall in the upcoming match.
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