Good evening and welcome to LIVE text coverage of the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Germany are playing in their eighth World Cup final which is more than any other nation. They have won three titles. Argentina feature in their fifth World Cup final - they have won two and lost two of the previous four.

KICK OFF! Germany get the 2014 World Cup final up and running.

It's been a while since Seinfeld, but he's back in the spotlight!

No pressure for Kramer then...

Late blow for Germany...

We've got a vote for Argentina via Twitter. Get involved with your own predictions of score and scorer(s) - tweet @Paul_Hassall

Stars of yesteryear begin to soak up the atmosphere inside the stadium.

FLASHBACK: Back in 2010 Germany hammered Diego Maradona's 'all-out attacking' Argentina 4-0 in the last eight.

Which pundit was the star of the WC show for viewers in the UK? The Media Blog asked the question and got a top three that probably won't surprise you too much...

Former Liverpool midfielder, Maxi Rodriguez has refused to go via the usual PR route when it comes to Germany's success against Argentina in recent WC encounters. Indeed, revenge is very much on his mind. He said: "Since they knocked us out on the last two occasions, I can't deny that I'm out for payback. The first time was more painful because it was on penalties. In South Africa it was different, because we hardly got into the game. But now it's a final, the most important match we're going to play. Of course I want revenge."

Was Alejandro Sabella asked to sum up what makes Germany such a consistent contender in the latter stages of tournaments? If so, this was a pretty good answer: "Germany has shown throughout its history great physical and mental power, and players with a hint of South America. Germany knows what team work, organisation and long-term work is."

Joachim Loew is not buying some suggestions that Argentina are Messi plus 10. He told his pre-match press conference: "This team is not just Messi and if you think that then you would be making a mistake. They have other attacking powers like Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria. This team does not live solely on Messi. They have a good compact organisation, better than in 2010."

The formations...

So who do you fancy tonight? Will it be Germany's year after being the nearly men in recent years? Or will Lionel Messi's star shine bright and steer Argentina to glory? Tweet me, @Paul_Hassall, your score and scorers and I'll include some in this live commentary.

But four years later, at Italia 90, it was West Germany's turn as they edged a poor final 1-0 courtesy of Andreas Brehme's penalty.

This is the third World Cup final meeting between the two teams. Back in 1986 Argentina prevailed 3-2 after West Germany had hit back from 2-0 down to level.

Will it be 'Mueller time' once again?

Lionel Messi and Thomas Mueller still have a chance of pipping James Rodriguez to the Golden Boot. Find out how they can win it and who was the hot-shot at previous tournaments here.

A bit more from the closing ceremony.

Tonight marks the end of a full month's worth of the greatest football show on earth - but what were the main high and low points? Our experts offer there views on what they loved and what they didn't here...

The high points of the opening and closing ceremonies...