Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/345566
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 JULY 2014 14 News Maltese punters backing Germany to lift fourth World Cup GERMANY are 90 minutes away from claiming a fourth World Cup and punters are backing the Die Mannschaft to beat rivals Argentina in tonight's showdown in Rio de Ja- neiro. Local betting company U*Bet have put Germany 2.25 to win as opposed to 3.20 for an Argentinian victory. According to the company's webpage, almost 60% of punters are backing Germany, while 25% are putting their money on the South Americans. 15% are betting on a draw within the 90 minutes, which is given at 3.10. Similarly, foreign betting compa- nies put the European powerhouse as slight favourites over Argentina who are seeking their third title. The odds suggest the 20th World Cup final will be more evenly matched than Tuesday's historic 7-1 defeat Brazil suffered at the hands of Germany, with the majority of bets in the UK pointing towards a nar- row German victory. But it's not just punters taking a crack at predicting World Cup re- sults. Sporting analysts, investment banks and even Microsoft's artifi- cially intelligent digital assistant, Cortana, have given it their best shots. And so far Cortana has come clos- est. The virtual assistant has suc- cessfully predicted the outcome of every game in the knockout stages, besting even the late and alarmingly great Paul the psychic octopus. It has also turned out to be more accurate than the raft of investment banks — Goldman Sachs included — that had home-field-advantaged Brazil tipped as the winner. Goldman Sachs's complicated model predicted Brazil to win the tournament after facing down the Netherlands, however both teams were knocked out at the semi-final stage. The bank's analysts crunched data on 14,000 past matches to arrive at a 67-page report that confidently cal- culated the outcomes of all matches, published in May. However, after only guessing half of the group stage results, it soon became clear reality wasn't quite matching the historical dataset. TIM ATTARD MONTALTO FOOTBALL commentator George Micallef believes that Argentina will win the World Cup final this evening, despite the fact that the Germans are, in his eyes, the "hot favourites". "My mind says Germany but I have a feeling that Argentina will come through victorious," Micallef told MaltaToday. "The Germans are hot favourites and form would suggest that they have the edge but a final is not your typical match. Form doesn't Route to the final… The Germans were at their efficient best in crushing hosts and favourites Brazil 7-1 in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday night. Thomas Mueller opened the scoring as he continued his love affair with the World Cup, scoring his fifth goal in these finals and tenth overall. Mueller's goal was followed by Sami Khedira, a couple of braces by Toni Kroos and Andre' Schurrle and a record-breaking goal by Miroslav Klose. The Polish-born striker has now scored 16 goals at four World Cup finals dating back to 2002, one more than Brazilian legend Ronaldo. Earlier on in the tournament, Germany brushed aside Portugal, drew with Ghana and beat the United States to top their group. They then overcame a spirited Algeria side in the Round of 16 and won by the odd goal against an impressive French side in the quarter finals. Meanwhile, Argentina also finished top of their group with a 100% record against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria, with Lionel Messi scoring four of the South Americans' six goals. They then overcame both Switzerland and Belgium in the Round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively by a goal to nil, thus setting up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with the Netherlands – whom they went on to beat in a tense penalty shoot-out. George Micallef German player Thomas Mueller (right) celebrates with teammate Mesut Oezil after scoring the first goal for his team during the World Cup 2014 semi final match between Brazil and Germany