Previous predictions: Group Stage | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals
| Final Predictions | ||||||
| Game |
 Jason
La Canfora |
 Jeff
Borzello |
 Tom
Fornelli |
 Evan
Hilbert |
 Jerry
Hinnen |
 Mike
Singer |
| Germany vs. Argentina |
 Argentina
|
 Germany
|
Germany
|
Germany
|
Germany
|
Germany
|
| Brazil vs. Netherlands |
 Netherlands
|
Netherlands
|
Netherlands
|
 Brazil
|
Brazil
|
Netherlands
|
La Canfora's pick - Argentina: Sticking with my pre tournament pick. With no great conviction. After a few quiet matches, Messi gets it done on the biggest stage possible and Germany is over-confident after its epic savaging of Brazil.
Borzello's pick - Germany: Argentina has been less than convincing despite winning every match, but there's a part of me that fears Germany could come in overconfident. At the end of the day, Argentina is very comfortable playing an "ugly" 1-0 or 0-0 match -- and they still have the best player in the world in Lionel Messi. With that said, Germany has been the most impressive team thus far, they have world-class players in every area, and they're experienced. It's a recipe worthy of a World Cup title.
Fornelli's pick - Germany: Anybody who watched the two semi-final matches would have an extremely difficult time trying to justify choosing Argentina over Germany in this match, but it's not just the semi-finals doing the talking here. In a World Cup that hasn't had a dominant side, Germany has always appeared to be the closest thing throughout this tournament.
Hilbert's pick - Germany: There was a point in Germany's win over Brazil Tuesday when the German dominance went from surprising to uncomfortable. It was somewhere between the fourth and fifth goal, I think. Germany has been the class of this World Cup, but it may run into its equal Sunday. Argentina has yet to surrender a goal in the knockout stage and boasts one of the world's best players in Lionel Messi. So it's at least safe to assume the game won't turn into the embarrassing ordeal we saw Tuesday. But Germany will still probably win.
Hinnen's pick - Germany: Yes, strange as it sounds, I'll take the team that scored seven goals in a game over the team that's scored seven of their own -- not counting that fortunate own goal vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina -- through the entire tournament. The Germans have the better goalkeeper, the better defense, the better midfield, and in the white-hot Thomas Muller, a player nearly as dominant as Lionel Messi. So how do you pick against them?
