It promises to be a final to be remembered. We were all disappointed at different points when Holland, England, Brazil and Argentina or the other teams lost depending upon whom we were supporting. The tournament seemed over just before the semis.

In hindsight, the world cup couldn’t have expected a better final. Italians are good on defense - supposedly unpenetrable and are now going for the attack as well. France has the creativity and the talent. For me Makelele is as crucial as Zidane and there are so many other guys - Henry and Franck Ribéry for example.

In an excellent preview, Danny Pugsley says that it is advantage Italy:

Perhaps it won’t be a thriller, but I anticipate a tight game and as a contest it will be an absorbing. Hopefully both sides will get to show their attacking instincts to give us a memorable final…Italy will triumph 1-0 with Pirlo the goalscorer.

Don’t want to read a lot? Listen to the final Beautiful Game podcast from Germany then, where they talk to BBC Sport’s Adnan Nawaz in one of their best shows yet.

This doesn’t look like being a goal fest and some people might have been put off already. What the final does promise to be is a scintillating contest. I am very much excited about the prospect of the two teams facing each other. It is going to be a game of chess has been the common refrain. What spark of brilliance and mastermind effort will seal the final?

I am thinking France will win it 1-0 with a Henry goal. Who do you think will win and why?

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 8th, 2006 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.