Germany vs. Argentina: A history of World Cup matches

Germany and Argentina will meet in Sunday's World Cup final at the famous Maracana in Rio de Janeiro and will renew a rivalry that's produced some of the most thrilling matches in the tournament's history.

Sunday's match will be the seventh meeting between these two footballing powerhouses, and, astonishingly, their third clash for World Cup glory after facing off against each other during in back-to-back championship matches.

Argentina won the first final during a gripping 3-2 match in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico to capture their second title. The Germans avenged the loss four years later in Italy when they claimed a 1-0 win, courtesy of a controversial penalty in the 85th minute, and captured their third World Cup trophy.

Here's a look at some of their past meetings at the World Cup:

1958 World Cup in Sweden - Group Stage

It wasn't a classic by any means, but the group stage match at the 1958 tournament between Germany and Argentina was the first of six meetings at the World Cup. Despite Argentina's surprise start when they scored the opening goal three minutes into the contest, Germany went on to dominate the game and came away with a 3-1 victory. Germany would eventually win the group, while Argentina finished bottom after only accumulating two points from their lone victory (opposed to the current three points awarded for victories) against Northern Ireland.

1986 World Cup in Mexico - Final

While the second match produced a lackluster 0-0 during the 1966 World Cup, their third meeting at the tournament was a classic. Argentina found themselves on the verge of winning their second World Cup after going up 2-0 with just over a half hour left in the game. But goals from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Völler in the span of seven minutes vaulted the Germans back into the match with nine minutes remaining. With the German's limiting space for Diego Maradona, fearful of the superstar's offensive prowess, midfielder Jorge Burruchaga found himself on the receiving end of a beautiful Maradona pass from the halfway line and broke away from the German defence to score the winning goal.

1990 World Cup in Italy - Final

The 1990 final featured the World Cup's first two sendings off when Argentina's Pedro Monzón was shown a straight red card for his cynical challenge on forward Jurgen Klinsmann in the 65th minute. Down a man, the Germans utilized a relentless attack and were finally rewarded for their efforts when the referee deemed Roberto Sensini's foul on  Rudi Völler to be worthy of a penalty kick. The decision enraged the Argentine players as they surrounded Mexican referee  Edgardo Codesal in protest. Replays, however, showed Sensini touching the ball before making contact with Völler. Andreas Brehme converted the penalty with six minutes remaining and the Germans held on to win their third World Cup. Adding insult to injury, Argentina became the first nation that failed to score in a World Cup final as they only registered one shot on goal to Germany's 16.

2006 World Cup in Germany - Quarterfinals

16 years after their last World Cup meeting, Germany and Argentina found themselves playing for survival in the quarterfinals at the 2006 World Cup. The Germans found themselves in a similar position as 1986 when they were minutes from elimination. Argentina grabbed the lead four minutes into the second half when Roberto Ayala's header rocketed past keeper Jens Lehmann. With 10 minutes remaining in the match, World Cup leading goal scorer Miroslav Klose leveled the match for the host nation after thumping a header of his own past the Argentine keeper. Extra time failed to settle things and the match went to penalties. The Germans converted all their chances and advanced to the semifinals where they were eliminated by eventual World Cup champions Italy.

2010 World Cup in South Africa - Quarterfinal

Germany and Argentina squared off once again in the quarterfinal stage of the World Cup for the second consecutive tournament, but the match produced the most lopsided victory for either nation as the Germans claimed a 4-0 victory. Miroslav Klose tortured the Argentines again with two goals as the Germans cruised to victory past a Argentina team with talents that had not fully reached their potential with Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria headlining the South American side's football revolution. Germany were eliminated once again by the eventual World Cup winner when Spain claimed a 1-0 win in the semifinals.

Argentina hold the overall edge, winning nine matches to the Germans seven during 20 matches played.

Germany was recognized as West Germany prior to the 1990 World Cup.