Germany and Brazil will each be playing in their seventh though the two have never met in the World Cup before.

Following are brief reports on each of the 16 previous finals:

1930 URUGUAY 4 ARGENTINA 2, Montevideo

Only 13 teams took part in the finals. The hosts and Argentina had both won their semi-finals 6-1, against Yugoslavia and the United States respectively, so a high-scoring game was expected. Uruguay took an early lead through Pablo Dorado in the 12th minute but Argentina came back to lead 2-1 at halftime. Carlos Peucelle scored in the 20th minute and Guillermo Stabile notched the second in the 37th, his eighth of the tournament. Stabile missed a great chance to make it 3-1 before Uruguay stormed back with three second half goals from Pedro Cea (57th), Santos Iriarte (68th) and Hector Castro (89th).

1934 ITALY 2 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1 after extra-time, Rome

The hosts won again but Italy came perilously close to losing. Czech forward Antonin Puc scored in the 71st minute, two minutes after having to be revived on the touchline following a crunching tackle by Attilio Ferraris. Within minutes Jiri Sobotka hit a post and Oldrich Nejedly wasted a golden chance for the Czechs. But Raymondo Orsi turned the match round in the 81st minute with a brilliant equaliser. Five minutes into extra time, Enrique Guaita found Angelo Schiavio unmarked in the area and the forward scored the winner from 10 metres.

1938 ITALY 4 HUNGARY 2, Paris

Italy became the first team to retain the World Cup and the first to win when not hosting the tournament. They got off to the best possible start too when Gino Colaussi scored after six minutes but Hungary were level within a minute through Pal Titkos. Italian striker Silvio Piola, who had set up the first goal, took a pass from Giuseppe Meazza to thump home the second in the 16th minute. Colaussi got his second and Italy's third in the 35th and, though Hungary fought back through Gyorgy Sarosi from close range in the 69th, Piola put the issue beyond doubt with his second goal in the 82nd. Italian coach Vittorio Pozzo became the first, and so far the last, to take a team to two World Cup triumphs.

1950 URUGUAY 2 BRAZIL 1, Rio de Janeiro

The final that was not a final. But it was the final game in a pool of four, including Sweden and Spain, and it did determine the title. Favourites Brazil, playing at home in the Maracana before a record crowd for any soccer match, officially 173,000 but estimated to be about 205,000, needed just a draw while Uruguay had to win. Uruguay defended resolutely against the attack-minded Brazilians but could not stop Friaca giving the home team the lead four minutes into the second half with the only goal he ever scored for his country. Brazil took their collective foot off the pedal and Uruguay came back with a Juan Schiaffino goal from an Alcides Ghiggia cross in the 66th minute. Ghiggia, who had scored in all of Uruguay's matches, hit the winner himself 11 minutes from time to plunge Brazil into despair.

1954 WEST GERMANY 3 HUNGARY 2, Berne

Perhaps the most incredible final of all. Hungary, with possibly the greatest team in history, had beaten the Germans 8-3 early in the tournament and looked bound for victory when they took a two-goal lead in just eight minutes. Hungarian captain Ferenc Puskas, injured in the earlier match with Germany and barely back to fitness, scored in the sixth and Zoltan Czibor grabbed a second two minutes later. Incredibly, Germany were level within 11 minutes. Max Morlock pounced on a defensive mix-up to score in the 10th minute and Helmut Rahn volleyed home after a 19th minute corner. Hungary pressed for a winner but were caught out five minutes from time when Rahn picked up a loose ball, rounded Mihaly Lantos and fired the winner past Gyula Grosics.

1958 BRAZIL 5 SWEDEN 2, Stockholm

Still the highest score of any final and still the only time a South American or European team has won on the other's continent. Nils Liedholm gave the hosts a great start with a goal in just four minutes but Brazil were irresistible. Vava equalised five minutes later and put his side ahead in the 32nd, both from Garrincha crosses. Then Pele stole the show. The 17-year-old, who had scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against France, scored a brilliantly artistic goal in the 55th minute and headed home Brazil's fifth in the last minute after Mario Zagallo had scored in the 68th and Agne Simonsson had pulled one back for Sweden in the 79th.

1962 BRAZIL 3 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1, Santiago

The teams had drawn 0-0 when they met earlier in the group, a match in which Pele was injured ending his tournament early. The Czechs broke the deadlock as early as the 14th minute when midfielder Josef Masopust scored with a first-time shot from Tomas Pospichal's pass. But, as in 1958, Brazil were soon level, Amarildo scoring within two minutes. Brazil took over in the second half, Zito scoring with a header, his first international goal for five years, in the 69th minute and Vava added a third in the 78th to become the first player to score in two World Cup finals.

1966 ENGLAND 4 WEST GERMANY 2 after extra-time, London

For the fifth final in succession, the team that scored first did not win. Helmut Haller gave the Germans the lead in the 13th minute but the hosts were level within six minutes when Geoff Hurst headed home a Bobby Moore free kick. When Martin Peters stabbed the ball home to put England ahead in the 78th minute, it looked all over, but German defender Wolfgang Weber equalised a minute from the end of normal time in a goalmouth scramble. Extra time produced controversy. Geoff Hurst smashed an Alan Ball cross against the underside of the bar in the 100th minute. England were convinced the ball had crossed the line, Germany were adamant it had not. Swiss referee Gottfried Dienst gave the goal after consulting Azerbaijani linesman Tofik Bakramov, then of the Soviet Union. One minute from time, Hurst ran on to a Moore through ball and smashed it home to complete a hat-trick, the only one ever scored in a final.

1970 BRAZIL 4 ITALY 1, Mexico City

Brazil turned on the magic in perhaps the finest display ever seen at a final. Pele, then 29, scored their first with a header in the 18th minute, 12 years after scoring in his first final. Though Roberto Boninsegna equalised in the 37th minute after a defensive mix-up, Brazil were not to be denied. In the second half, they were awesome, scoring through Gerson in the 66th, Jairzinho in the 71st and captain and right back Carlos Alberto in the 86th. Jairzinho scored in every match at the tournament, including the final. The last goal is considered one of the World Cup classics as Brazil conjured the ball from Clodoaldo to Jairzinho and then to Pele, who laid the perfect square pass for his captain to score. Zagallo became the first person to win the trophy as both player and coach (1958 and 1962).

1974 WEST GERMANY 2 NETHERLANDS 1, Munich

The Dutch, who had thrilled the world with their 'total football' style, became, after Hungary in 1954, the best team not to have won the World Cup. They scored the fastest goal in a final when English referee Jack Taylor gave a penalty, the first awarded in a final, after Berti Vogts brought down Johan Cruyff before any German player had touched the ball. Johan Neeskens scored from the spot in the second minute. The Dutch became too casual after their early goal and the hosts came back when Paul Breitner scored in the 25th minute from another penalty after Bernd Hoelzenbein was fouled by Wim Jansen. By halftime the Germans were ahead, Gerd Mueller spinning and firing home a low shot from a Rainer Bonhof cross. The winner was Mueller's final goal for Germany in an amazing career tally of 68 in 62 internationals. It also gave him a record, still standing, of 14 goals in World Cup finals. He had scored 10 in the 1970 finals.

1978 ARGENTINA 3 NETHERLANDS 1 after extra-time, Buenos Aires

The Dutch, this time without Cruyff, lost to the hosts again. The match was delayed at the start, first because Argentina came out late and then because they protested at a bandage being worn by Rene Van de Kerkhof, who had to have it replaced. Argentina took the lead when their hero Mario Kempes surged through the Dutch defence in the 37th minute. The Dutch dominated the second half and equalised eight minutes from the end with a header from substitute Dirk Nanninga. With seconds to go of normal time Robbie Rensenbrink hit a post but it was the last hurrah for the Dutch. In extra time Kempes scored his second in the 104th minute and Ricardo Bertoni wrapped it up 11 minutes later.

1982 ITALY 3 WEST GERMANY 1, Madrid

Luck seemed against Italy in the first half. They lost striker Francesco Graziani through injury early in the game and then failed from the penalty spot. Antonio Cabrini struck the kick wide in the 24th minute to become the first player to miss in a final. But Italy were well in control and finally took the lead in the 56th minute when Paolo Rossi headed in a Claudio Gentile cross. It was Rossi's sixth goal in three games after a hat-trick against Brazil and two against Poland in the semi-final. Rossi had only returned to football weeks before after serving a two-year ban for match-fixing. Marco Tardelli added a second in the 68th minute and substitute Alessandro Altobelli a third in the 80th before Breitner pulled one back in the 83rd, the German becoming only the third player to score in two finals.

1986 ARGENTINA 3 WEST GERMANY 2, Mexico City

Diego Maradona had been the star of the tournament and West German trainer Franz Beckenbauer tried to snuff out his threat by asking Lothar Matthaeus to mark him tightly. But the script went wrong for the 'Kaiser'. Jose Brown headed Argentina into the lead in the 23rd minute from a Jorge Burruchaga free kick and Jorge Valdano extended the lead in the 56th. The West Germans were being over-run but they fought back in typical fashion and were suddenly level after two goals in eight minutes from Andreas Brehme corners. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored the first in the 74th and Rudi Voeller the second in the 82nd. The match seemed to be heading for extra time but Maradona escaped the attentions of Matthaeus in the 85th and found Burruchaga with a perfect through ball allowing him to grab the winner. Rummenigge became the only player to captain the losing teams in two finals.

1990 WEST GERMANY 1 ARGENTINA 0, Rome

By general assent, the worst final ever. Argentina became the first team to fail to score in a final and the first to have a player sent off. As it happened, they had two players dismissed -- Pedro Monzon for a foul on Juergen Klinsmann in the 64th minute and Gustavo Dezotti for an assault on Juergen Kohler four minutes from time. Argentina, who had started the tournament with a shock 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, had scraped into the final, scoring just five goals in six matches and winning only two outright. Maradona was barely fit and largely uninfluential. Yet the Germans found it hard to break them down. In the end, it took a debatable penalty decision six minutes from time to decide the game. Voeller went down in the box when he was tackled by Nestor Sensini. Matthaeus was due to take the kick but left it instead to Brehme, who made no mistake. Beckenbauer became the first person to win the World Cup as captain (1974) and coach.

1994 BRAZIL 0 ITALY 0 after extra-time, Brazil won 3-2 on penalties, Pasadena

The first final without a goal and the first to be decided by a penalty shootout. Another poor match played in intense heat. There were few chances but the best players on each team, Romario for Brazil and Roberto Baggio, both managed to squander good ones. Even the shootout was riddled with errors. Italian captain Franco Baresi put his spot kick over the bar and Baggio did likewise with Italy's final effort, leaving Brazil 3-2 winners. Few people remember that Daniele Massaro of Italy and Marcio Santos of Brazil also missed penalties. Brazil became the first team to win the World Cup four times in their first final in 24 years but it was a less than satisfying victory.

1998 FRANCE 3 BRAZIL 0, Paris

Brazil started as favourites and ended up suffering the heaviest defeat of any finalist since 1970. The match was billed as Ronaldo v Zinedine Zidane but it turned into a no-contest. The Brazilian striker suffered a fit on the day of the game and was not originally named in the team but he played anyway after turning up at the stadium just before kick-off. He was totally ineffective and Zidane just took over the show, scoring twice in the first half through headers from corners in the 27th and 45th minutes. Though French defender Marcel Desailly was sent off in the 67th minute, the hosts were never in trouble and completed the rout when Emmanuel Petit latched on to a through ball from Patrick Vieira to score the third in the last minute. France became only the seventh nation to win the World Cup.