Germans were relentless against Brazil in the semifinal and they had to luxury of resting their best defender (Mats Hummels) as Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker replaced him after Germany had taken 5-0 lead at the break. There are no major injury or fitness issues with German side and we can safely assume that Joachim Loew will go with unchanged lineup from the semifinals.

Argentina on the other hand had to go all the way to penalties, but on the basis of performance in the first 90 minutes they were the deserving winners. They had more shots on goal (4) compared to Holland’s just 1. Alejandro Sabella will be happy with Sergio Aguero performance as he get some playing time after 16 days out through injury, he might replace Higuain in the starting lineup for the German final.

Germans are likely to go with unchanged lineups while we can expect couple of changes in Argentina lineups with fit again striker Aguero making a claim while Di Maria’s fitness is a doubt. But we will update on it in the coming couple of days.

Back in november-december 2013 when the group stage draw was made, I wrote this world cup bracket prediction post, where I predicted a Argentina-Germany final. I called it a destiny and quite a few of my early predictions of how the knockouts will go were true.

I predicted the final two teams but not the winner because its so hard to go against Germany, at the time I believed Germany has the best and most balanced squad, Argentina on the other hand has 10 good players and Lionel Messi, Who in my opinion is destined to win atleast 1 world cup.

I think Germany had better performances under their belt in this world cup compared to Argentina, who relyed big time on Messi in the first few games but they are playing as a unit now. Their defense specialy has improved alot as the tournament went along. Germans are the leading goalscorers of this world cup while Argentina are so hard to score against as they did’n concede a single goal in any of the three knockout ties and kept 4 cleansheets in 6 matches played so far.

So as far as my predictions for the final are concerned I can see both teams scoring and I am going with a 2-1 win for Argentina in normal 90 minutes. What you think of the the final and world cup so far ? who has been the best team ? who will win the world cup 2014 and why ?

The hosts vs the most ‘complete’ team in the tournament. At this stage it’s hard to chose between sides, but a lot of the hype surrounding both teams is just that – hype.

Analysts have made much of Germany’s attacking talents but it must be remembered that they have now scored 10 goals against mediocre opposition. Argentina, on the other hand, managed to score twice against the Ivory Coast and twice against the Mexicans – unarguably the two tough matches the South Americans have had to play this tournament.

On the other hand, Argentina are not the force the media has made them to be despite the 6-0 S&M of … S&M. They were stretched in all the other matches and they have looked a bit weak on the flanks despite their strength in the midfield. They are always looking to score, and with Germany being an attacking side as well this match promises to be one of the best matchups of the tournament.

Argentina will be looking at Germany’s two weak points – their young defense and a keeper that, despite his clean sheets, did not look at his best in the game against Sweden. You only have to go back 3 weeks to the start of the tournament to remember that Lehmann was potentially at fault (along with the right-back and the linesman) for both of Costa Rica’s goals. The Argentines will know this, and they will be looking to start fast and hit Germany as quickly as possible.

They have had tough matches, and they will be looking towards that experience to guide them through against Germany. Peckerman has held back Messi and Tevez for most of the tournament, and while the two will probably start on the bench again their introduction (likely in the second half) will be a very powerful weapon at his disposal. Germany, worrying, don’t have such a super-sub on the bench. Neuville is not exactly the sort of striker to make you quiver in your boots, nor can he beat you with pace like Messi can.

Argentina may yet start with Cambiasso, preferring Luis Gonzalez on the right to give them more width. It would mean that Mascherano would be the lone defensive midfielder, and his marking on Ballack should be one of the highlights for the match. Ballack, if you remember, has had 15 or so shots on goal without scoring. If Mascherano can shut him down, Germany will find it difficult to score.

The German defense is still suspect for me and Argentina just might edge this one thanks to the pace and strength of their subs.

Sabella had a few years in English football with Sheffield United and Leeds United, as a manager he won Argentina primera division with Estudiantes and took over the job of Argentina head coach in 2011. Under him Messi is scoring more goals and they play attractive football. Defence is a worry though.

4 time ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is the main focal point, but every team will try to mark out messi which give other forwards a chance to take centre stage and thats where Sergio Aguero comes into play. Role of Angle Di Mari is massive for Argentina he offers something different and a surprise package if teams focus on containing Messi.

Young-gun to watch out for - Marcos Rojo

A big and strong central defender who many clubs will be watching is Marcos Rojo, at the age of just 23 he is a regular fixture in this Argetnina side currently playing for Sporting Lisbon.

Here is the official 23 man squad for Argentina national team for 2014 world cup in Brazil.

Germany are fresh, have the crowd behind them and what’s more, they have the self-belief that they just might go through. Winning will bring that to you, especially if you come out of an easy group and go into the quarter-finals without really having stretched yourselves.

Germany also have the advantage of having a side that is both naturally attacking and comfortable with playing down the wings. Argentina have lacked width and while they thwarted Mexico, Germany have more firepower with all front 6 players capable of scoring from any range. It should be interesting to see how Klinsmann uses Schneider and Schweinsteiger on the wings, and how he instructs Frings to deal with Riquelme.

Germany’s best bet would be to man mark Riquelme and shut down their midfield, and seeing how all sides in the quarter-finals have come through on the back of strong defenses (at least in second round matches), they would be paying close attention to videos of Tevez and Messi as well. The Argentine forwards and wingers excel at making runs to draw away markers and the Germans will have to be very alert about that.

Germany have the luxury of picking from a full squad, with both Michael Ballack and Miroslave Klose shaking off injuries to be fit for tomorrow match. A settled squad automatically breeds confidence, and with the fans behind them, Ballack and co. will be going for gold come Friday.

Germany Line-Up Preview

Star player: Manuel Neuer

Must I select only one? Fine, let’s take the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best in the world by many: Manuel Neuer. The Bayern Munich backstop is the latest in a long line of stellar German keepers and, at 28, isn’t going anywhere any time soon. He’s lead Germany to a Euro U-21 title, so perhaps the World Cup is coming this time around.

Manager: Joachim Löw

He looks like a German Beatle and coaches like the equivalent of the Fab Four. Sure, Joachim Low has a wealth of talent from which to form a team, but the former Fenerbahce and Austria Wien boss has done good things since taking over Germany in 2006 (after two years as an assistant). An assistant in 2006, Low was considered just as responsible as Jurgen Klinsmann for Germany’s semifinal run in the ’06 World Cup run, and has followed it up with a loss in the finals of Euro 2008, the third place prize for World Cup 2010 and a semi-final loss to Italy at Euro 2012. All that’s left is the major title.

Secret weapon: Depth

It’s really unfair to claim that there’s a secret weapon for Germany considering that every time they sub, the opposition fans will groan as they realize another known commodity is coming onto the pitch. There are only four players on the roster with less than 10 caps, and not one should see significant time. The one with 11 caps is Julian Draxler. Their “midfielders” include Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Schurrle, Podolski, Muller, Draxler, Kroos, Gotze, Reus. That’s nine guys.

Germany Team Squad:

EDIT: Reus is injured and out of the tournament.

Prediction: Germany wins the group, and has only itself to blame for a run anywhere short of the semifinal. US fans should hope that the Germans beat up Portugal in the opener and get three points from Ghana in the second, allowing them to consider resting some main faces for the knockout round. The Germans do have an American fitness coach: Shad Forsythe.

It can’t hurt that the winner of this match will play one of Italy and Ukraine in the semi-final. Ukraine were by far the worst team even in the second round (worse than Ecuador, yes), and they are lucky to be in the quarters. On the other hand Italy have been rocked by scandals (and suicide attempts) back home, plus their form has been patchy. Italy still need just one game to turn their fortunes around, but both Germany and Argentina would fancy their chances against Italy.

With a possible seat in the final to play for, both teams will go at each other hard. I don’t expect many goals, and if the Argentines get one in early we might be in for a dour, defensive game.