A final date with destiny

As Germany and Argentina prepare to contest tomorrow’s decider at the Maracana, there is one last opportunity for a sensational World Cup to finally achieve greatness

Almost there now and, as the world awaits the 2014 final of the Copa Do Mundo, we can but hope that Germany and Argentina will sanctify the holy ground of the Maracana with a game for the ages.

Not that we’ll be holding our breath. At this dizzying altitude, at the very summit of world football, fear of failure can all too easily eclipse will to win and, lurking like a dark shadow in the corner of the mind, is the memory of how these two nations pretty much stank the place out when they last contested the final, in Rome, in 1990.