A whirlwind week to end a terrific tournament — and with the climax to a classic World Cup now in sight, are we really any wiser as to who will lift the trophy on Sunday?

A month ago, before a ball had been kicked, I predicted that Argentina would play Germany in the final, with the South Americans claiming the glory. But I also tipped England to reach the quarter-finals and Holland and France to fall in the group stage.

It has been that sort of competition, with bold decisions occasionally backfiring and crazy tactics being turned upside down. The early shock of Holland humbling Spain was followed by successive surprises from Costa Rica and finally an astonishing bout of Brazil-bashing by the Germans.

But Germany’s goalfest will have no bearing on the outcome on Sunday. It may even be a burden for a side who might have hoped for a tougher challenge from the hosts to keep them sharp for what will undoubtedly be a tightly contested final.

Germany’s victory over Brazil gives them a record eighth appearance in the final, one more than the hosts. But they have won only three and the last of those triumphs came back in 1990 — against Sunday’s opponents. Argentina will be playing their fifth final and their first since that defeat in a most unsatisfactory match in Rome.

Both sides have shown enough during the past four weeks to indicate that this final could go either way. Germany’s high came on Tuesday and they also opened impressively with the 4–0 win over a weakened Portugal.

But in between they were far from their swashbuckling best in a draw against Ghana and a narrow win over the United States. The latest of strikes from Mesut Özil then provided a vital cushion against Algeria and they settled for a solitary goal to beat France.

Argentina won all three group games, but were unconvincing against Bosnia and might have fallen behind in their second game had Iran succeeded with a strong penalty claim.

They were tested by Nigeria and, having negotiated the group, did just enough with 1–0 wins over Switzerland and France to reach Wednesday’s semi-final, a match of stifling intensity that unsurprisingly provided the tournament with a record-equalling fourth penalty shoot-out.

There may yet be another to come because Argentina are not about to throw caution to the wind and Germany are likely to have to maintain the careful approach that was their strategy against Brazil until the favourites crumbled under the pressure of their own expectations.

I’m expecting the final to be decided in the correct fashion, possibly extending into extra time but no farther. I’m also expecting Argentina to deliver on my pre-tournament prediction, with Javier Maschareno a constant menace in midfield and Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero and Gonzalo Higuaín combining to pose a perpetual threat to the Germany defence and find the composure to beat Manuel Neuer.

Tomorrow’s curtain-raiser, the much maligned third-place play-off, is particularly cruel on Brazil. It could have been worse: if Wednesday’s penalty shoot-out had gone the other way, the hosts would be licking their wounds in the cauldron of a clash with Argentina.

World Cup six-pack

Klose target: Nils Liedholm, of Sweden, was the oldest player to score in the World Cup final when he netted against Brazil in 1958 at the age of 35 years and 263 days. Miroslav Klose is 36.

Flag day: The final of the 1974 tournament between West Germany and Holland was delayed for a few minutes after English referee Jack Taylor noticed that the corner flags were not in place.

Firing blanks: The 1994 final between Brazil and Italy at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena was the first to finish goalless and the first to be settled on penalties, with Brazil victorious in the shoot-out.

Shot-shy: Iniesta’s winning goal for Spain in the 2010 final was his team’s eighth of the tournament — a record low for any team to have lifted the trophy. David Villa scored five of them.

Goal rush: Brazil’s 5–2 victory over hosts Sweden remains the highest score in a World Cup final and featured two goals for the 17-year-old Pelé. English bookmakers will offer up to 500-1 on Argentina matching that score on Sunday.

First for Hurst: The 1966 tournament was significant for all sort of reasons, including the first hat-trick in a World Cup final, even if Geoff Hurst’s second goal was just a tad controversial.

Phil Ascough, the author of Never Mind The Penalties — The Ultimate World Cup Quiz Book (foreword by Kevin Kilbane) and Never Mind The Tigers, both published by The History Press, was a senior reporter and sub-editor at The Royal Gazette from 1989 to 1992