This Sunday will provide one of the greatest soccer matches
of all time, the 2014 World Cup! With
two heavyweight soccer nations of Germany and Argentina providing the display,
fans around the globe should expect a fantastic show. Both teams are fully stocked with top
professionals and have performed very well at international tournaments
historically. For the fortunate winners,
the players will be thrust into immortality as their country celebrates yet
another World Cup trophy!
Germany has certainly caught the eye with their amazing 7-1
victory over the hosts Brazil. They
dominated the game outright and showed why your best hopes in playing against
the Germans is to defend hard, not to try and attack with numbers. Argentina, quite fortunately, has taken the
more cautious approach with a defensive mindset, and their impressive defensive
performances suggest they’ll be a stern test for the Germans. They have yet to concede a single goal since
the knockout rounds began, including two clean sheets against the potent
offenses of Belgium and the Netherlands.
The key figure in this final will be Lionel Messi of
Argentina. He has won everything
possible for a footballer, except the World Cup, and unfortunately that is
simply the most important trophy around.
Unless he wins this game, he may never be held in the same regard as his
compatriot Diego Maradona, who brought the nation to glory in 1986. While critics moaned about the team’s
over-reliance upon Messi in the opening rounds, his fellow teammates have
stepped up in the recent games.
For the Germans, the side is all about cohesion and team
unity, which functions like well-oiled German sports car on the Autobahn. The star player here will be Thomas Muller,
who has 5 goals in the World Cup and seemingly always plays the right way. He isn’t about nifty moves and trickery like
Messi though. Instead he simply gets the
ball and plays direct. He has the
natural instinct to find the open chance and has the know-how to score on a
regular basis.
But Messi is on another level, and this is why I fully
believe that Argentina will win the World Cup.
Messi has the ability to make magic and create the golden chance all by
himself. Where as Muller has the
greatest supporting cast any front man could ask for, Messi is the type of
player that can do it alone, though his teammates are pretty talented as well.
Argentina has reached this World Cup final through
hard-fought closely contested matches while Germany is coming off of one of the
best matches in their history in the win over Brazil. I sense a little bit of over-confidence and
arrogance coming from the Germans, who will now fully expect to win. Argentina won’t open themselves up like
Brazil did. Instead, they’ll soak in the
pressure and hope to get the ball up front to Messi. Against any defender in the world, I like Messi’s
chances, especially with history and a hopeful nation upon his back. Messi will score the goal and the game will
end 1-0.
