Maradona holds the cup aloft in 1986 (Allsport).

By Chris Straw, PA Sport

Every four years the world holds its breath as two teams contest the single most important, most high-profile and most watched game of football anywhere - the World Cup final.

No other match comes close in terms of magnitude and ideally the significance of the game will always be matched by the technical ability of the teams and a narrative that features an ever-shifting balance of power.

Which finals have best fulfilled those criteria? Honourable mentions go to 1950, when Uruguay silenced 200,000 Brazilians in Rio, and 1954, when West Germany 'stole' the trophy from the magical Hungarians.

And even though we automatically associate 1966 with England's glory, its claims to being the best final are numerous: a comeback from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, a last-minute equaliser, a hugely controversial goal and a coup de grace that resulted in what remains the only ever hat-trick in a final.

Four years later we were treated to another memorable game, albeit ending somewhat one-sided as arguably the greatest Brazilian team of all thrashed Italy 4-1, completing the rout with one of the greatest-ever goals ever scored.

But since Carlos Alberto set the seal on Mexico 1970 precious few World Cup finals have come anywhere near to fulfilling pre-match expectations.

When Brazil failed to show at the Stade de France in 1998, it completed a hat-trick of dismal displays, following the dour goalless draw between Brazil - again - and Italy in USA 94 and the dreadful war of attrition fought out by Argentina and West Germany in 1990.

That game in Rome's Stadio Olimpico - infamous for the dismissals of two Argentinians - was a particular disappointment given the outstanding match played between the same in the final in Mexico four years previously.

With Diego Maradona at the peak of his powers and Franz Beckenbauer making his first attempt to captain and then manage a World Cup-winning team, a classic confrontation between South American flair and European organisation unfolded in a final its successors have since failed to match.

Maradona had already, controversially, seen off England in the quarter-finals and Belgium in the semis with two goals in each game and stood on the verge of rubber-stamping his superstar status.

But his challenge was made all the more difficult by the Germans' decision to use Lothar Matthaus as a man-marker in a bid to curb Maradona's influence.

As a result Maradona had very little room for manoeuvre in the opening stages of the final, but when he was hacked down after 22 minutes Argentina seized the initiative.

Jorge Burruchaga curled in a teasing free-kick that brought a misjudgement from German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher, enabling Jose Luis Brown to head into an empty net.

With the Germans struggling to provide any real attacking threat of their own, an Argentina victory looked assured 10 minutes into the second half when Maradona and Hector Enrique combined to release Jorge Valdano, who calmly side-footed past Schumacher to establish a seemingly unassailable 2-0 lead.

But Beckenbauer's side, who had needed a combination of free-kicks and penalties to see them through the knock-out stages, finally got back into the game in the 73rd minute when skipper Karl-Heinz Rummenigge capitalised on wayward marking, slotting the ball home after Rudi Voller had flicked on Andreas Brehme's corner.

Then, with Rummenigge dropping back to midfield in a bid to conjure an equaliser, the unthinkable happened.

From another Brehme corner Voller headed in from close range to make it 2-2 and set up a grandstand finish.

Maradona's moment had come.

If he could produce a flash of his brilliance in the remaining eight minutes he would not almost certainly win the ultimate prize in world football for his country and also secure his own place alongside the greats.

He did not miss his cue.

Barely two minutes after the Germans had levelled the scores Maradona - surrounded by three opponents - needed just one touch to play an inch-perfect pass into the path of Burruchaga, who outpaced the defence and slid the ball through the legs of the onrushing Schumacher to snatch a heart-stopping victory.