And here is the mandatory preview of La Gran Finale. Argentina are of course the favourites, in terms of the way they have played, and the squad of players that they have - Riquelme, Messi, Mascherano, Tevez and Crespo have been exceptional.

And Brazil? Well, if there is such a thing as "lesser favourites", then that is what they are. They may have left their stars at home, but you can't discount the tradition and strength of the gold shirt, and the record they have over Argentina in recent years - they've beaten them 2-2 (penalties) in the last Copa America final, 4-1 in the Confederations Cup final, and 3-0 in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium last September.

The main issue of course is the midfield battle.

Argentina's Midfield
Argentina have Riquelme floating around and playing ahead of Veron, who is in front of a solid (and talented) base of Mascherano and Cambiasso. "Masch" is a midfield destroyer of the highest quality - a keen reader of the game, a sharp tackler, and a player who is quick and skilful enough to win the ball and then move it around well. Next to him Cambiasso is a constant, dogged workman, always running and tackling, and deceptively skillful. He loves to get upfield, and is able to combine very effectively to form intricate little passing moves with the attacking players.

Riquelme has been (arguably) the star of the tournament. Playing in front of a central three has allowed him to float around and get forward, and with the strikers drifting wide he has been able to make runs into the box, and duy picked up 4 goals. However, the biggest difference to this Argentine midfield has been the inclusion of Juan Sebastian Veron. Till now, they way to stop Argentina was to stop Riquelme - he was deeper in the midfield, and EVERYTHING went through him. It was brilliant a lot of the time, but when Riquelme went missing, so did Argentina. Veron changes all that.

Once a midfield playmaker of as much reknown as Riquelme (if not more), Veron went through some rough patches, and ended up in the infamous "International wilderness". Now back in Argentina, rejuvenated and playing with Estudiantes, Veron has made his country resurgent once more. Adopting a deeper role, he takes a lot of the playmaking pressure off JRR, and when the Boca man is being marked out of the game, the passes can flow through Veron as well. This works both ways, since with Veron as an auxilliary playmaker, and Messi floating around everywhere, teams can't afford to mark Riquelme too tightly and he gets a lot more space.

Brazil's Midfield
Brazil have been continually criticised by their own fans and media throughout this tournament, and their uninspiring midfield has taken the biggest rap. Coach Dunga has steadfastly refused to change his strategy, much to the frustration of an entire nation, but he has got results with it. In fact, this final maybe the game that he has been building upto all along. He angered fans by playing Gilberto Silva, Mineiro, Josue and Julio Baptista in the same midfield, especially against "lesser" teams, but having four hard-workers might just be the answer to stopping Argentina's "unstoppable" midfield. They must work their hardest, denying time and space to the likes of Riquelme and Veron, and trying to win the ball back as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the plans have been thrown somewhat into disarray by the suspension of captain Gilberto Silva for the final. He has been an everpresent thus far, and the lack of direct replacements is a worry. The only other defensive midfielder in the squad is Fernando, a youngster who plays for Bordeaux, and is rated as one for the future, but has almost no international experience. Giving him his first competitive start in the final of the Copa America against Argentina would be a bit too much. Especially for a player whom most of the fans and media feel shouldn't even be in the squad.

So Brazil must rethink. They have a few options: 1. Retain the shape, and gave Fernando a go, 2. Slot Josue into Gilberto's role, and Baptista into Josue's with Diego playing in Baptista's attacking role (like against Mexico), or 3. Put Elano in as an alternative to Diego.

Having seen the training sessions of late, I feel it will be Elano who comes in. In fact, at the start of Dunga's reign, it was the Ukraine-based attacker who had provided a lot of the attacking threat, cutting in from the right. He is not a playmaker like Diego, but he is a fantastic finisher with both feet, with quick, clever movement off-the-ball. He is a hard-worker, and not afraid to tackle, and although he is not going to win the ball too often, he will be a more solid option. Diego is a player who likes to hold on to the ball and dictate the play. He can be magical on his day, but can also be a luxury player who doesn't like to put in the hard work.

Strikers
Both teams are evenly matched, although Argentina have the greatest talent in Messi.  Robinho is not far behind, although his talent is more unrefined, but he has scored 6 goals. Tevez partners Messi upfront, although both tend to stay wide - Messi cutting in from the right, Tevez cutting in from the left, but both switching positions quite often. For Brazil, Wagner Love partners Robinho. He is not as brilliant as any of the other forwards mentioned, but his strength, intelligence and hold-up play are unique, and allow Robinho the freedom to roam around and wreak havoc.

Defences
Argentina have the stronger defence overall, with top-class (and vastly experienced) performers Zanetti, Ayala, Milito and Heinze forming the back four. However Brazil have the tournament's best centre-back in Juan, who forms a solid partnership with Alex. At fullback they have Maicon and Gilberto on either flank. Although they are much more inexperienced than Argentina, Maicon and Gilberto are excellent going forward, and offer much more attacking threat than Zanetti and Heinze.

Goalkeeper Abbondanzieri is the best that Argentina have, and Doni is probably the worst that Brazil could have sent, but there is not that much of a gulf between the two. Doni is a very weird 'keeper who makes mistakes, but also makes spectacular saves.

And that's it from me! Enjoy the final, I know i'm excited about it, and I will bring you updates from the game.

79 goals in 24 maches so far in this Copa America. An astonishing avarage of  3.2 goals per game. But these three, from Robinho, Suazo and Messi were remarkable. Watch them again and vote for the best.

Robinho - 3rd. goal vs Chile - group stage 

Suazo- consolation goal after 6 x 1 Brasilian victory in quarter

Messi - rd. goal vs Mexico in semi

Brazil were brazilliant tonight, and althought all the stars shone, it was two of the more unsung players who caught my eye - Sao Paulo defensive midfielder Josue, and CSKA Moscow forward Wagner Love. Both of them set the stage for Brazil's other players to shine, but i'll get to them later.

Brazil were excellent, but Chile unfortunately looked from the start as if they had shown up expecting to lose. They were quite lifeless, and unfortunately their two best players - "El Mago" Valdivia and Matias Fernandez were both on the bench. Mark Gonzalez might think he is the focus of the team, but his level of play is anything but good.

Maicon in front of the OleOle.com stadium ads (no photoshopping!)

Brazil stayed with the same line-up as the last game, with the exception of Maicon returning to the lineup in place of the suspended Dani Alves. Much had been made of Maicon's race to be fit for this game, and he was extremely influential and effective throughout it. He was one of the best players on show, but was an easy target for fouls because of his injured left shoulder, and one particularly nasty body-check left him screaming in pain and very, very angry. Dunga told him to calm down, and he told Dunga to mind his own business.

But to the goals now:

1-0 A corner kick and exceptional centre-back Juan scores in the 16th minute from Maicon's headed flick-on. Embarrasingly I was distracted by the umpteenth sequence of Mexican waves circling around me and missed this one.

2-0 Maicon intercepts at right-back and charges forward leaving the disinterested-looking Chilean midfield in his wake. He plays the ball into the feet of Wagner Love on the edge of the box and continues his runs. Love controls instantly, spins brilliantly and plays the ball perfectly into the patch of the onrushing Julio Baptista who cracks a low, hard shot in off the far post, first-time with his left foot. Why he couldn't do that for Arsenal I don't know, but it was a nice goal, and will silence his critics (just a little bit).

3-0 Robinho strokes a goal home from the edge of the box, and Chile are dead and buried.

4-0 Robinho again with his 5th goal of the tournament. Great teamwork from Brazil in midfield and down the left, and the ball goes across the face of goal. From somewhere, Robinho materialises to become the top scorer in this tournament.

5-0 Josue gets his just reward when after a scramble in the box and missed header from Afonso Alves, the ball falls to him. He takes a touch and slots it softly into the net, and gets his first goal for Brazil

5-1 Humberto Suazo scores the best goal of the match, and probably one of the best of the tournament. After some great work from Jorge Valdivia ("El Mago" or the magician), Suazo had the ball on the edge of the box and dummied the defender, took his time and sent one of the most sublime lobs you will ever see over the head of Brazil 'keeper Doni. At first it looked impossible that it would go in because of the height of the shot, but it dipped into the goal perfectly.

6-1 Done and dusted. Wagner Love went clear in the box and struck a perfect low shot across the 'keeper. Elano (on for Maicon) had made a great run upfield and combined well to put Wagner Love clear in tight-spaces. After having squandered two or three good chances earlier, the blue-haired one made no mistake this time.

So, excellent stuff all in all, and a great game to watch. As I said earlier, Maicon was excellent, but the two players that stood out for me (perhaps because of the lack of attention normally paid to them) were Josue and Wagner Love.

Josue will in all likelihood find himself a part of the Brazil squad for the future as well. Although not a powerhouse, he is an incredible, tidy little machine - always running, always tackling without excessive sliding or fouling, and an efficient short passer and mover. He's got good touch and good awareness, and although he won't be challenging Kaka or Ronalindho's playmaking abilities, he is a more-than-competent passer. I can't think of a team that he wouldn't be an asset to, although his style is best suited to a 3-man central midfield. At almost 28 years of age he is probably blooming a little late to make it big in Europe.

As for Wagner Love... well he impressed heavily in the Champions League already, but he is such a joy to watch. He might not be the most prolific of strikers, but his pace, movement and intelligence are first-class. He drags defenders all over the place, makes brilliant runs for his mdifielders, and he has the vision to play slightly deeper as well as with his back to goal. Whenever he gets the ball, his decision-making seems to be instant, and today he was constantly carving open the Chilean defence. To add to that, he has this tremendous ability to win high/long balls that someone of his size never should; he's surprisingly strong and his touch under pressure is excellent. Definitely someone who can and should take a step up in the world of football.

And that's it for me really! Off to Maturin tomorrow morning to get you the news from Mexico vs. Paraguay. Dunga can sleep peacefully tonight because the Brazilian media can have very few complaints for him.

We attended Brazil's press conference yesterday, where Dunga was speaking ahead of the quarter-final against Chile.

Much of the focus was around the kind of football that Dunga is playing and promoting, and how it is not the "Brazilian way". He was asked point-blank by a journalist, "Why are you making Brazil play ugly football?", and his reply was - "That's your opinion, it doesn't mean it's correct, and we are playing to win. I don't want Brazil to go without a title again for 24 years". The last statement was in reference to the period between 1970-1994, when Brazil had arguably their most creative, beautiful football, without any titles to show.

"Why are you playing with 3 defensive midfielders? It's not how Brazilians play" was another question, to which Dunga responded that Argentina were also playing three defensive midfielders - Mascherano, Cambiasso and Veron, and the journalist responded that "Veron is NOT a defensive midfielder, how can you call him a defensive midfielder", and Dunga's response was that he thought Veron was a defensive midfielder, and then he wanted someone to change the subject.

Another question was asked about why all the other players bar Robinho seemed unhappy on the field, to which Dunga once again replied that it was a matter of opinion, and that all the players were happy even if it was not visible in their play.

Dunga grew progressively more irritated in his demeanour, and kept issuing shaky answer to questions. Clearly he is very nervous right now, although he's trying his best not to let it show. But both the fans and media have become fed up of Dunga's arrogance, and especially his handling of Kaka and Ronaldinho; it is widely accepted that Kaka could have been convinced to come to the Copa America if Dunga had baeen a little persuasive. But Dunga tries to make himself the main man, and take the view that all the players are equal and shouldn't be treated any differently, but honestly, Kaka and Ronaldinho are players that need to be treated a bit differently.

What do you think? What is your opinion on his policy of using the same rule for everybody? And what do you think of Dunga?

The atmosphere at Brazil vs. Ecuador was terrific last night. The Mexicans had stuck around afterwards to annoy everyone with their songs about how crap Brazil and Ecuador were, most of the Venezuelans had donned Brazil shirts and were cheering on the the stars of the Seleção, but they tried whenever possible to support their Ecuadorian friends as well.

The match itself was energetically played, although both teams lacked a cutting edge. Brazil started with 4 defensive midfidlers, or volantes as they are called over there - Gilberto anchoring in the centre in his usual role, with Mineiro running and roving around just to the right of him, Josue was mirroring that on the left, although with a bit more caution, and Julio Baptista played in the middle, ahead of them all. It was technically a diamond of defensive midfielders, and although Julio Baptista was in something of an attacking midfield role, for most Brazilian fans he will always be that same "clown" of a volante from Sao Paulo. Up front, Wagner Love was the lone striker, with Robinho in a completely free role.

Robinho is the "star" of the tournament for the fans, being the most talented player on show. The media have been talking about him non-stop and his reputation has jumped ten-fold. But I have been watching him over the past year for club and country, and this is more due to media hype and lack of other stars, than an actual major improvement in his performances. His talent is unqestionable and he has the potential to still be one of the best in the world, but his performances are still far away from that.

As you might expect, Brazil were uninspiring. The actual Brazilians that were in the stands were on their backs from start to finish, booing and swearing at Dunga and a few of the other players that they felt weren't fit to be in the team. I'm not going to go through the key moments of the match, but both teams were quite evenly matched, although the Brazilians had more individual talent. Ecuador had excellent chances, and were unlucky to not get a second-half penalty, but they had no finishers. They improved a lot in the second-half with Tenorio's introduction, but ultimately the game was settled by Robinho's skill.

He threw-in a few pedalas, got ahead of his man, and was brought down. He went down easily, and he seemed like he was looking for it, but at the same time the contact was clear and it was a penalty, and he duly dispatched the kick to make it 1-0.

Colombia might have had a penalty of their own when their player was heavily shoved in the box when going for an aerial ball, but the referee was giving everything the way of Brazil. The game was generally uninspiring, but much better than the tripe served up in the previous Mexico-Chile match. There were a few players who stood out - Wagner Love, Tenorio, Mendez, Alex and Juan were all good. Josue was also good, very neat and tidy, and buzzing about everywhere mopping stuff up.

The fans were very harsh on Julio Baptista - he's never allowed to make a mistake, and every mistake he made was jeered and sworn at. There was players who did a lot worse than him, but Julio Baptista was never given a break. Despite quite a few lost balls, and a ridiculous air shot, he had 3 good headed chances, and sent Wagner Love clear with an excellent through ball, but when he was subbed off he was booed and the cries of "filho da put" (son of a bitch) rang out loud and strong. It was harsh, but credit to him for being professional and not responding. He's not the kind of player you associate with Brazilian football, and the fans clearly don't want him in the team, but that's Dunga's fault and not his.

If Baptista was unloved, then Dunga was positively hated. The fans were calling for his head all game. "Filho fa put" was yelled out from the moment he appeared, to the time he left, and he desperately needs to fix this Brazil team if he wants to have a chance of getting anywhere. The media doesn't like him either, and his arrogance does him no favours, and if he's having conflicts with Kaka and Ronaldinho as is being rumoured, then he doesn't really have anywhere left to hide.