As Brazil 2014 heads towards it’s conclusion with tonight’s final between Argentina and Germany, many commentators are already hailing the tournament as having been the best World Cup of all time.

Many point towards the openness of play, backing up their argument with the fact that 170 goals have been netted so far, just one short of the current record for the most ever scored at a FIFA World Cup set at France '98.

There's been no shortage of memorable strikes over the past month, creating much debate over the tournament’s best goal. This writer would opt for Tim Cahill’s stunning over-the-shoulder volley against Holland for Australia, above, with Robin Van Persie’s looped header for the Dutch against Spain…

….and James Rodriguez’s spectacular opener for Colombia in their 2-0 win over Uruguay both also worthy of a special mention.

It’s not been short of drama and controversy either, from Luis Suarez’s infamous bite to Neymar’s tournament-ending back injury.

Few would argue however that the biggest talking point came in the first semi-final on Tuesday which saw hosts Brazil humbled by Germany in a way perhaps never seen before at a World Cup.

Full of records, the 7-1 thrashing ensured Germany would appear in their eighth final, taking the Guinness World Records title’ for most World Cup Final appearances.

The incredible match also saw the Germans set a new benchmark for mostWorld Cup goals scored by a team (they now stand on 223 total tournament goals), while Toni Kroos’s double earned him the record for shortest time to score two goals in a World Cup match.

Most notably the match saw Miroslav Klose surpass Ronaldo's record to become the Guinness World Records title holder for Most FIFA World Cup finals goals by a football (soccer) player.

Miroslav Klose slider

The 36-year-old German hitman netted his side's second goal in the semi-final against Brazil to become the record holder outright with 16.

To read more about his feat and watch all of Klose’s World Cup goals, click here for our earlier story.

Last night’s third-place play-off only served to provide further anguish for the host nation’s fans with a 3-0 victory for the Dutch.

Robin Van Persie’s opening goal from the penalty spot meant that Brazil had conceded 14 goals throughout the tournament.

While coach Phil Scolari will be pleased that his side have avoided the ignominy of setting a new record for most goals conceded at a World Cup by a team (they were two short of South Korea unwanted record of 16 set in 1954), this Brazilian side nevertheless stand as having the World Cup’s most leakiest defence since FIFA expanded the tournament to 32 teams.

A nice gesture from Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal in the closing minutes of the match saw him send on his third choice keeper Michel Vorm as a substitute.

Up until that point Vorm had been the only unused player from the 23-man Dutch squad during the tournament, with his introduction ensuring that a new record was set for most players used by a team during a FIFA World Cup.

While some way sort of 2.5 billion that tuned in to watch the funeral of Diana Princess of Wales in 1997 – the current record for largest audience for a live TV broadcast - tonight’s showdown at the Maracana Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro is nevertheless expected to see over a billion football fans across the globe tune in for the match.

Should Argentina triumph it would end a 28-year wait for World Cup glory since they beat West Germany in 1986.

Germany, seeking a fourth World Cup title, would be the first European team to win the tournament in South America, an achievement which would also mark the first time they will have won football’s greatest prize since 1990.

In terms of actual Guinness World Record titles in line to fall tonight, all eyes will be on Argentina’s tailismanic skipper Lionel Messi. Currently on four goals scored at Brazil 2014, a hat-trick would see the Barcelona forward edge past his hero and fellow compatriot Diego Maradona’s record of 6 for most goals scored in the World Cup as captain.

Meanwhile, should either Thomas Mueller or Miroslav Klose hit three goals for Germany in tonight’s match, it would also see them join Sandor Kocsis (Hungary), Just Fontaine (France), Gerd Müller (West Germany) and Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) as joint holders for the record for most World Cup scored hat-tricks by a player – an exclusive quartet who each managed to score two hat-tricks during their World Cup appearances.

* We’ll have a full round-up of all the records set at Brazil 2014 on Guinnessworldrecords.com tomorrow.