This World Cup has been a lesson in the art of not peaking too early.

Who in their right minds would have predicted that France and Italy would reach the final? Conventional wisdom stated that both were in too much turmoil and too much disarray of varying degrees to perform anywhere near their best.

The French looked disjointed, uncooperative, arguing amongst themselves and even mutinous at the start of the tournament. Zidane looked to have been included for old times sake, with Raymond Domenech seemingly having no clear idea of how to accommodate him.

With the black cloud of the Piedi Puliti investigation hanging over Italy, a dozen of the squad faced the prospect of their clubs being relegated from Serie A. As an added distraction, former teammate and close friend of many of the squad Gianluca Pessotto was hospitalised after a fall - possibly self-inflicted - at Juventus HQ.

Logic stated that France and Italy would have no chance, but both are through, and both in unfamiliar fashion.

The Italians based most of their previous World Cup success on the ruthless and defensive 'catenaccio' (literally meaning 'door bolt') style, snuffing out danger by whatever means necessary and relying on the odd flair attacker for goals.

France meanwhile were famous for the skill and panache of Platini, Zidane et al, but this time around the roles have been reversed somewhat.

The sides' performances in their two semi-finals were poles apart, and at the same time sharply contrasted with the typical perception of French and Italian football.

Italy's display against hosts Germany in the semi-final was a lesson in free-flowing, attacking football. They finished the game with four forwards on the pitch - probably motivated by a crippling fear of the penalty shootout.

Conversely, the flair of the French was conspicuous by its absence against Portugal. Zidane looked like a man with only one more match left in him, Henry had one of his moodier games, and their key men were central defenders Thuram and Gallas, and the king of the 'holding' midfielders Claude Makelele.

So what can we expect from the final given this new role reversal? Finals are typically dour affairs, and with both teams looking strong at the back, goals could well be tricky to come by.

Both teams realistically could not have expected to reach the final, but it is difficult to assess how that will affect the game. Either the 'rabbit in the headlights' syndrome will strike the players and they will freeze, or they will adopt a 'nothing to lose' philosophy and attack will reign. Sadly, the smart money is on the former option.