Euro 2008 finalists - Germany v Spain, all-time record

And then there were two. The grand finale. After 30 games, 76 goals, 8 cities and countless surprises it comes down to Germany and Spain. After the surprise semifinal runs of Turkey and Russia it's somehow fitting that one of the game's giants will lift that silver trophy. Although the pedigree of the two could hardly be more different.

Germany have history on their side in every way. 3 World Cup titles, 3 European Championship titles not to mention numerous runs that ended in the finals or semifinals. They have qualified for every Euro since 1972 and have never failed to qualify for the World Cup, their only absences being times they didn't enter. And as Wednesday match with Turkey clearly showed, their mental strength and ability to overcome obstacles and conjure up late winners is legendary. 

In the other corner is Spain, one of the sport's great underachievers. Sporting one of best leagues in the world and unquestionably the all-time most successful club in Real Madrid you would think Spain would have an impressive record in national team competitions. Not so. It started off reasonably well, The Furia Roja taking the 1964 edition of the European Championship. And since then they have a runners-up position in 1984 and a whole lot of disappointment. The World Cup doesn't offer much more. They reached the final four in 1950 but since then it seems that Spain can be counted on to look good in the group stages and crumble when the knock-out stages begin.

So will history prevail? Or have Spain finally made a psychological breakthrough by keeping their nerves in penalties against Italy and steamrolling Russia? Any opinions?

Here's a look back at the head-to-head record of the two teams in competitive matches over the years. As you can see history is very much on one team's side.

Head to Head

1966 World Cup First Round: Germany 2-1 Spain
1976 European Championship Quarterfinal 1st leg: Spain 1-1 Germany
1976 European Championship Quarterfinal 2nd leg: Germany 2-0 Spain
1982 World Cup Second Round: Spain 1-2 Germany
1984 European Championship First Round: Germany 0-1 Spain
1988 European Championship First Round: Germany 2-0 Spain
1994 World Cup First Round: Germany 1-1 Spain

Balance

Germany 4 - 2 - 1 Spain