The name Brazil can strike fear into the hearts of any opponents. Even experienced teams like England may sometimes show the Brazilians too much respect. There is an idolisation of Brazil that this current team doesn't deserve.

But if one country is not going to be intimidated or inhibited, it is Germany. That is why this final is so intriguing.

I am a great admirer of the Brazilian way of playing. Samba football is the name to describe the boys in yellow but not this time. I just don't think this Brazil side is packed with flair like teams from the past. Yes, it is fantastic to see Ronaldo back - although not to his very best in my view. Ronaldinho plays with skill and a smile on his face, which is good to see.

But some of the others like Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos have not been as good as I am being led to believe. I don't know why FIFA has named them as among the top 10 players of the tournament; I suspect it is by reputation rather than their performances on the pitch.

Germany have been criticised nearly every step of the way but that won't bother them. Remember, Brazil have only won their knockout games narrowly as well.

The key point is that Germany won't fear Brazil; they are the only nation whose World Cup record compares with them. Even though Michael Ballack is out - and that will be a miss - the Germans will try and exploit any Brazilian weakness. They will get plenty of crosses in the penalty area and we have already seen Klose is probably the best header of a ball at the World Cup. It's a huge game for a Premiership player. Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann will be vital in Ballack's absence and remember it was Hamann who started the German's qualifying campaign with that goal against England at Wembley.

I am glad the two 'big teams' reached the final because the World Cup has gone downhill from a very bright start. At the beginning, we were all excited by the idea that anything could happen.

Teams like Senegal, South Korea and the USA made us all stand up and cheer. However, the knockout games have been disappointing. We haven't seen the classic matches and the best players in the world haven't produced their best. If Germany win on Sunday, the star of the World Cup will be a goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, and that sums it up for me.

Even more disappointingly, there has been a lack of great goals and new tactical or technical innovations. I don't want to sound like an old moaner but I was hoping for more from this World Cup particularly in the latter stages.

 

The fancied teams like France, Argentina and Italy went out with a whimper, there was no real fight for them to stay in the tournament. Although it was great in one way to see those shocks, it left a lack of real quality match-ups in the latter stages. And before people have a go, I have no sympathy for the teams who made early exits. They were proved to be not up to the task.

Back to the final, I know the bookies have Brazil as odds-on favourites but I see it as a genuine 50-50 match.

England should have done better against Brazil with 10 men - that was disappointing to see. But I feel sorry for Rio Ferdinand, I can't believe he wasn't included in the shortlist for best player of the tournament. FIFA have named 10 men - including another central defender Fernando Hierro - but not Rio. I can't work that one out; Ferdinand was excellent; very, very solid and one of the reasons England went as far as they did.

Stay logged on to TheFA.com next week when I name my World Cup XI for the tournament. Here are a couple of other things I will remember fondly from the Far East.

BEST GOAL: HENRI CAMARA (Senegal v Sweden)
Fantastic team-play ending in a great volley from Camara. A golden goal as well to give Senegal a 2-1 win.

BEST GAME: BRAZIL 5 COSTA RICA 2
No defending whatsoever, it should have been 6-6. Fantastic

BEST PLAYER: RONALDO (Brazil) and KAHN (Germany)
Best striker v best goalkeeper. Whoever wins the World Cup final deserves to be named man-of-the tournament

BEST NEWCOMERS: DIOUF(Senegal) and RONALDINHO (Brazil)
There haven't been enough young talents who have burst through in this tournament but you couldn't keep your eyes off these two 

Ossie was speaking to Joe Bernstein