4 predictions for the World Cup final

It never ends. The pundits and betting websites of the world are already falling all over each other to share their predictions for the World Cup final. Germany or Argentina. Blowout or nailbiter. Quick ending or penalty kicks. It can often be confusing to navigate, and it is never clear who to trust. Our money is on the camel, because he really doesn't have much invested in the whole thing. 

Here is our guide to the vast world of predictions on the Internet, so you can get an idea of which way the wind is blowing (according to the World Cup prognosticators) for Sunday's final. 

THE ODDS

Bodog is offering 6/5 odds that Germany wins, 12/15 if Argentina wins, and 9/4 odds if there is a draw at the end of regulation. Ladbrokes has 8/11 odds on a Germany victory, and 11/10 for Argentina. Paddy Power says the odds of Germany repeating the Brazil result against Argentina is 325-to-1. You never know. 

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT
Your favorite ESPN statistics blog believes that Germany has a 63% chance of victory in the World Cup final, based on their method of calculation called SPI, which is "a system that combines game- and player-based ratings to estimate a team’s overall skill level."

However, we've all learned quickly how unpredictable these matches can be after Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the semifinal on Tuesday. Nate Silver, who runs the website, explained on July 8 why that game was so rare. The odds that Germany would score seven or more goals was considered a 1-in-4,200 chance. So, you can't really hold that against them heading into Sunday's match. 

THE PUNDITS AND CELEBS
This is the part where your favorite columnists put on their prediction hats for the nearly impossible feat of trying to guess how this game will end: The Daily Mail believes Germany is going to steamroll Argentina for the trophy, winning 8-3. It's not really all that clear what is based on. BBC Sport's Mark Lewenson is confident Germany will win 2-1. But not everyone thinks that Argentina is on their way out - David Beckham said he thinks how Lionel Messi plays will dictate the outcome of the final, and he is leaning towards a 3-1 victory for the South Americans. 

Also, don't even bother asking Shakira. She is still mourning the loss of a certain octopus:

"I would love to have Paul the octopus to help me, but he already died, poor thing. So I cannot predict anything for this Final."

THE CAMEL

Ah yes, always trust your animal oracle. Or in this case, your psychic camel. Shaheen is from Dubai, and he is quite confident that Argentina will win it all on Sunday. How do we know this? He is presented with two flags, and whichever one he chews on is the perceived winner. The camel is apparently at 75% accuracy in knockout matches and predicted that Argentina would beat the Netherlands in the semifinal, which was not a sure thing in the slightest.