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Germany vs Argentina
Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
NoonPT
If you're in the Pacific Northwest, today is soccer overload day. The World Cup final kicks off at noon, there's a Portland Thorns vs FC Kansas City game at 4 in the sunshine at beautiful Providence Park, then at 7, the Timbers make the short drive up I-5 to take on the Seattle Sounders, in a showpiece MLS rivalry game in front of 60,000 people, a rivalry so historic (in US terms anyway), intense, and passionate, featuring US National Teamers Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin, that ESPN has decided to put it on at 10PM eastern time. Thanks, ESPN.
Anyway, it's a good day to be a soccer fan in the NW, and it all kicks off with the 20th World Cup final (or World Cup XX if you're an NFL person, I guess). Germany look to win their fourth World Cup, and first since Italia '90, while Argentina are trying to win their third, the last Cup they won being Mexico City '86. Either way, it's still true that only eight teams have ever won the World Cup, in spite of the tournament pool expanding from 16 to 24 in 1982, and from 24 to 32 in 1998.
Going by the semifinals, Germany should walk this, but that was the semifinals; this game could be a lot of fun.
Game's on ABC in the US, and on all the usual suspects elsewhere. Enjoy.