No country from the old world has inscribed its name on the trophy on the seven occasions the game’s biggest and most important tournament was held in the Americas.

Each time football’s showpiece was staged in North, Central or South America big guns Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay took full advantage of the familiar conditions to take the honours.

The nearest a European team came to prising the World Cup away from the South Americans in their own backyard was Netherlands in 1978 when winger Rob Rensenbrink hit the post in the last minute of the final against Argentina with the scores level at 1-1 before the home side went on to win 3-1 in extra time at the Monumental in Buenos Aires.

There is every likelihood that European football breaks new ground at its eighth attempt.

Germany and Brazil clash in one semi-final on Wednesday (AEST) while Argentina faces Netherlands the next day.

The final on 14 July (AEST) could well be a Brazil-Argentina dream date that would put the icing on the cake and settle one of the most enjoyable World Cups in history.

My hunch is we will get a final between Joachim Low’s Germany and Louis Van Gaal’s Netherlands, which would be a repeat of the Munich decider in 1974.

Many people have described Brazil 2014 as a positively crazy World Cup, yet when you think about it there have not been any major surprises, except for Costa Rica winning a group comprising Italy, Uruguay and England and holder Spain bombing out in the first phase.

Most group matches went according to form and all eight group winners would win their round of 16 matches.

The quarter-finals yielded four winners which are household names in the competition and from this point onwards it is fair to say that the winning team would be anybody’s guess.

There are clear similarities between this tournament and the one in Mexico in 1986.

The tournament then could have been won by any one of five or six teams (Argentina, West Germany, Brazil, France, Belgium, England … take your pick) because there was no standout side and the playing field was as level as can be.

The competition was won by a modest Argentine team essentially because Diego Maradona chose the land of the Aztecs to leave his indelible mark on the world game.

This year’s bonanza in Brazil has followed the same pattern as that of 1986 in that from day one no team has stood out and established itself as the hottest ticket in town.

The vast majority of teams have been strong and committed to attack, which has led to an extraordinary number of memorable goals and spellbinding matches.

We’ve seen nothing special from a tactical point of view but have been rewarded with constant drama and top-class entertainment that only football can provide.

While Dutchman Edgar Davids’s harsh assessment of the technical quality of the competition may have come as a surprise, most teams have shown weaknesses across the board and none of the current contestants have come near the standard of football Spain produced to win two European titles on either side of the 2010 World Cup.

The four semi-finalists, particularly Brazil and Argentina, have too many ordinary players and too few genuine stars in their ranks.

Talking of stars, can unconvincing Brazil win the World Cup without injured striker Neymar and can captain Lionel Messi lead an ordinary Argentine side to glory as Maradona did 28 years ago?

This is one of the least potent Brazil teams I can remember and, notwithstanding the considerable advantage of playing at home, it has yet to convince and no one should be surprised if it falls to the German machine.

Germany is pacing itself beautifully as it usually does in major tournaments and is peaking in time for the business end of the competition.

Argentina, despite the presence of the extraordinary Messi, is not much better off than Brazil, especially now that the lively Angel Di Maria is ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a thigh injury.

Its suspect defence, however, would have drawn courage from its second-half defiance to keep out Belgium’s furious if predictable raids in its quarter-final.

Netherlands had enough chances against Costa Rica to win two matches yet it had to rely on penalties to get through after a thrilling 0-0 draw.

Arjen Robben was in an unstoppable mood and he tormented the Costa Ricans all night with his blistering pace yet Robin Van Persie was guilty of wastefulness, while Wesley Sneijder was unlucky with two attempts that hit the woodwork.

However as long as the Dutch keep making scoring chances regularly, master coach Van Gaal will not worry too much.

He must be confident that Netherlands has the fire power to beat Argentina.

The World Cups in the Americas

1930 in Uruguay: winner Uruguay

1950 in Brazil: winner Uruguay

1962 in Chile: winner Brazil

1970 in Mexico: winner Brazil

1978 in Argentina: winner Argentina

1986 in Mexico: winner Argentina

1994 in the United States: winner Brazil