The 2014 World Cup in stats

Some stats from the Argentina-Netherlands semi-final.

* 3 players touched the ball more than 100 times - Dirk Kuyt 113, Stefan de Vrij 112, Javier Mascherano 104.

* Ron Vlaar and Javier Mascherano were the best tacklers with 4 successes each. Mascherano now totals 28 - the highest in the tournament.

* Lucas Biglia covered the most distance with 15,012m, followed by Wesley Sneijder with 13,906 and Dirk Kuyt with 13,855.

* There only 5 shots on target in the match, including just 1 from Netherlands - a World Cup lowest since records began in 1966.

* Netherlands had most possession (56%) and the 4 players who had the ball for the longest were all Dutch - Robben, Sneijder, Kuyt, Wijnaldum.

Germany are set to play in their eighth World Cup final; more than any other nation. They have won three titles.

Argentina are set to play in their fifth World Cup final, they have won two and lost two of the previous four.

This will be the third World Cup final between Germany and Argentina. They met in successive finals in 1986 and 1990, with each team lifting the title (3-2 Argentina in 1986, 1-0 Germany in 1990).

This is the 10th time that teams from Europe and South America face each other in the final. Seven of these finals have been won by the teams from South America.

Both sides will face off for the seventh time at the World Cup, the only fixture that has been played as often is Brazil v Sweden (seven times).

There have been fewer red cards at the 2014 World Cup than any other edition since 1986 (8)

Javier Mascherano has made more tackles than any other player at the 2014 WC

This will be the third WC final between Germany and Argentina.

Miroslav Klose has scored more World Cup goals than any other player in history and as many as the entire current Argentinian squad (16).

Only Lothar Matthäus (25) has played more World Cup games than Klose (23, the same as Paolo Maldini).

Klose is the only player in both squads who has already played in a World Cup final (2002 against Brazil).

Thomas Müller has played a hand in 16 World Cup goals in 12 appearances at the finals (10 goals and 6 assists).

Müller could also become the first player ever to win the Golden Boot at successive World Cups, having won it in 2010.

In the Brazil-Netherlands match Oscar became the first player in the tournament to be shown a yellow card for simulation.

There have now been 170 goals scored in the tournament, just 1 fewer than the highest tally in a finals (171 in 1998).

The last team to concede 14 or more goals in a World Cup before Brazil with 14 this time was Belgium with 15 in 1986.

Netherlands have used 23 players this World Cup, the most players used for a single squad in a World Cup ever.

Netherlands keeper Jasper Cillesen is the first goalkeeper in the history of the World Cup to be substituted twice.

Some stats to preview the World Cup final.

Leading scorers
Argentina - Messi 4
Germany - Müller 5

Most dribbles
Argentina - Messi 39
Germany - Özil 11

Most fouled player
Argentina - Messi 16
Germany - Müller 16

Most fairly tackled player
Argentina - Di María 13
Germany - Özil 12

Most passes attempted
Argentina - Mascherano 509
Germany - Kroos 498

Most successful passes
Argentina - Mascherano 460
Germany - Kroos 454

Most crosses
Argentina - Di María 47
Germany - Kroos 37

Mosts fouls
Argentina - Mascherano and Garay 7 each
Germany - Müller 11

Most successful tackles
Argentina - Mascherano 28
Germany - Höwedes 15

Most unforced errors
Argentina - Di María 13
Germany - Müller 15

With Germany's victory Europe have won the last 3 World Cups, the first time that any continent has won 3 World Cups in a row.

Some stats from the World Cup final.

* Of the 10 players who touched the ball the most only 1 was Argentinian (Mascherano with 88). Lahm with 132 had the most touches.

* Of the 6 players who covered the most ground only 1 was Argentinian (Biglia with 14,681m). Schweinsteiger led the way with 15,338m.

* The 5 players who made the most passes were all German - Kroos made 107 passes, followed by Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Boateng and Özil.

* There were only 5 shots on target in the match - all from German players (Götze had 2 including 1 goal, Kroos, Klose and Schürrle 1 each).

* The 3 players who made the most crosses in the match were all German, Lahm and Kroos 6 each and Müller 5. Rojo made 4 for Argentina.