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1. Stifling Messi
A singular free-kick and penalty aside, Lionel Messi was well and truly kept out of the thick of the action against Holland in Sao Paulo.
Louis van Gaal's approach of suffocating Messi with a cynical Bruno Martins Indi and the excellent Nigel De Jong frustrated the Argentine captain to the point of anonymity in the semi-final - a tactic that Joachim Loew won't have failed to notice.
Germany may well opt for the outstanding Sami Khedira and Philip Lahm to do the same, while calling on the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos and Mesut Ozil to chip in. The three Bayern men are unlikely to be daunted by the task, having both been part of the German side that romped to a 7-0 aggregate victory against Messi's Barcelona in the Champions League in 2013.
2. That German midfield three
The triumvirate of Khedira-Schweinsteiger-Kroos was not the midfield that Joachim Loew started the tournament with, but has evolved to become the pivot upon which the side's new found resilience has been built. The introduction of Khedira for Lahm, who is in his preferred full-back position, has put and end to the shaky vulnerability the Germans showed against Algeria and the USA, while launching wave after wave of attacks for the trio of Ozil, Muller and Klose.
Having seen the demolition job against Brazil, Sabella and co will know that disrupting Germany's middle from dictating the game will hold the key to their success. Expect to see less of Khedira and Kroos running late into box against a disciplined and organised Argentina side, who will try their level to grind down the pace of the game.
3. Local support
Argentine fans have made their side's matches feel like home games in Brazil. The host country's bitterest rivals have travelled in their droves but it will be the Germans who will have the Maracana behind them on Sunday.
The breakout of Brazilian ole's for Germany in their hammering of the hosts was a decent indicator that the country's 200 million football fans will, without exception, be donning white shirts and hoping for the first European World Cup success on the Latin American.
Another 7-1 would do very nicely, danke.
4. The state of Javier Mascherano's head
There was a point, mid-way through the first half against Holland, that Javier Mascherano didn't know if he was in Sao Paulo or Southend. The dogged defensive midfielder had collided with the head from Georgina Wijnaldum and looked ready for a stretcher.
Described by his manager as a "symbol" for the rest of the team, Mascherano ran off what could have been mild concussion and was the player sprinting in to the box, in the 90th minute, to stop Arjen Robben putting Holland into the World Cup final. Mascherano will have five days to sufficiently recover from any ill-effects of the bang on his noggin, and the hopes of his nation will rest upon him as much as they will on Messi.
5. An early German goal
Joachim Loew's team have won every game in which they have scored first in this World Cup and they like to wrap things up pretty early. Germany were on the scoresheet within the first 15 minutes against Portugal, France, and Brazil.
Belgium aside, Argentina have been slow starters so far, scoring late winners in the group stage and finding an last-gasp extra-time decider against Switzerland. Sabella's side will have to concentrate all their efforts on stopping the Germans from building an early head of steam if they still want to be in contention come the last third of the match.
6. Recovery time
Germany had the luxury of sealing their semi-final win with two-thirds of the match still remaining in Belo Horizonte. The likes of Matts Hummels, Miroslav Klose, and Sami Khedira all got a nice mid-match rest after being substituted with plenty of time to spare against Brazil.
Argentina emerged from their attritional display against the Dutch as “sore, beaten, and tired as a result of a war” according to their boss Alejandro Sabella. Add a dose of emotional exhaustion that comes with contesting a penalty shoot-out, and that one day less of rest may well come to show if we get into added time in Rio.
7. Mick Jagger
The Stones hitman has emerged as a sort of evil musical twin brother of Paul the Octopus at this World Cup. Jagger has backed four teams so far in the tournament and all of them (England, Italy, Portugal and Brazil) have gone on to be dumped out in unceremonious fashion.
The Jagger curse has gotten so severe that Brazilians have taken to calling him Pe Frio, which translates literally as Cold Feet, a Brazilian term for a jinx. So Mick will be hoping for a satisfaction-making 5 out of 5 come Rio on Sunday. We await the declaration of his allegiance with anticipation.
8. If Di Maria can make it
Angel Di Maria won't want to leave Brazil best remembered as the player that lost the ball 51 times in a match before scoring a winning goal. The Real Madrid man had an astounding season in Spain last year creating 26 assists. Given the struggles of Ezequiel Lavezzi and his replacement Enzo Perez, Di Maria's return would be a huge boon for Sabella's side should he manage to recover from a thigh strain on Sunday.
As seen against Algeria, Germany are vulnerable to lightning quick attacks, and if nothing else, Di Maria will no doubt be seen galloping down the pitch deep into added and extra-time testing Manuel Neuer's sweeper keeper credentials.
9. Banishing the memory of 1990
The previous encounter between these two sides ranks as one of the worst matches to have ever graced a World Cup final.
A 12-year-old Miroslav Klose is one of the few players who would have a vivid memory of the game where Germans were crowned champions after 1-0 win courtesy of a late winning penalty. Lionel Messi was a toddler. Mario Gotze, thankfully, wasn't even born.
Here's hoping all 22 players will be out to prove a point in Rio. Namely that they can serve up a stonking end to the best World Cup in modern memory.
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