On Sunday France come up against Italy in Berlin in the final of the World Cup. The Azzurri have been left heartbroken in their previous two meetings but now it is the time for Raymond Domenech and Marcello Lippi to meet.

Here, Chris Roberts compares the managers.

EXPERIENCE

Domenech can only dream of having the type of track record enjoyed by his managerial counterpart. Tuscan-born coach Lippi has only ever worked in his country of birth but this does not diminish his experience, for his CV includes a full range of coaching positions from the youth sector through the lower leagues right up to Serie A.

The turning point for Lippi came in the 1993/94 season when he led troubled Napoli to a place in the UEFA Cup. Since then he has delivered several trophies to Juventus, in two separate spells, including the Champions League in 1996 and league honours.

Domenech is blessed with a talented but ageing squad who have been written off on more than one occasion. While detractors point to the fact he has never won a major title as manager, others credit him with Lyon's current success and having helped cultivate France's golden crop of players, which included Zinedine Zidane, William Gallas,

Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Nicolas Anelka and Djibril Cisse from his youth work with France.

TACTICS

Both sides are likely to be set up with a familiar, attacking 4-5-1 system but both are more dangerous playing with a 4-4-2 formation.

Domenech is set to field Thierry Henry up front on his own, as he has done for most of the tournament, with Frank Ribery and Zinedine Zidane supporting from midfield. France can afford to leave David Trezeguet and Sylvain Wiltord on the bench but Louis Saha is suspended, having picked up two bookings.

Their more experienced players left the field exhausted following their semi-final success over Portugal and it remains to be seen whether that will have taken too much out of them.

The Italians have had an extra day's rest but Lippi will also push Luca Toni high up the pitch on his own with Francesco Totti certain to continue just behind him.

They are solid at the back with Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro untouchable during the tournament and Gennaro Gattuso covering every blade of grass in the midfield.

They too also have an embarrassment of riches on the bench in Alessandro del Piero, Alberto Gilardino and Filippo Inzaghi, should things not be going well.

STYLE

Laid-back Domenech gives little away on the sidelines and approaches games in a calm, methodical way, rarely betraying his emotions.

A motivator rather than a strategist, Lippi is not bound by a rigid tactical approach. He earns the respect of his players thanks to this flexibility as well as his own personal charisma and sincerity.

EXPECTATIONS

Some of the France players were jeered by their supporters before the World Cup and the fact many fans opted to stay in their homeland suggested they were not hopeful their ageing former world champions would go far. Domenech is starting to win over the supporters and has already proven many in his country wrong.

The Azzurri secured their passage to the World Cup finals with relative ease and subsequent victories over Holland and Germany in friendly matches raised expectations considerably, leaving Italian fans quietly confident of success.