Berlin, Germany (My Sportsbook) - A month of World Cup soccer comes to a close Sunday as France faces Italy in the tournament's final match on Sunday at the famous Olympiastadion.

France will try to recapture its World Cup glory in 1998 against an Italian team looking to win its fourth World Cup trophy.

France struggled through the group stages before recapturing its dominant form in the knockout stages to reach the tournament final for the second time in three World Cup tournaments. The country ensured its spot in the final match with a narrow 1-0 victory over Portugal in the final semifinal match on Wednesday.

Zinedine Zidane, who is expected to retire at the end of the tournament, found the only goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 33rd minute. Overall, it was a very close match, with Portugal finding five shots on goal compared to France's four.

France has history on its side in World Cup knockout stage history, having not lost a World Cup knockout match since 1986 to West Germany. The team has only conceded two goals in the tournament thus far to remain unbeaten.

For Italy, a chance to win the tournament was secured in a 2-0 victory over Germany on Tuesday. Fabio Grosso found a goal in the 119th minute in the second half of extra time to give Italy the lead and Alessandro Del Piero sealed the victory with a goal two minutes later.

Italy has relied on strong goalkeeping and defense throughout the tournament. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon leads the goal scorers list with a .17 GAA and 23 saves. The Italian back line has only conceded one goal, which was an own goal in the second group stage match against the United States. Meanwhile, the Italian front line has found the back of the net 11 times in six matches. The team is unbeaten in the tournament and has not lost in 24 overall international matches.

Overall, both teams are expected to field similar lineups for Sunday's match. Italy continues to be without defender Alessandro Nesta, who is expected to miss his fourth World Cup match with a groin injury. Daniele De Rossi is expected to return after serving a four-match ban for a foul in the group stage match against the United States.

For France, an overall healthy lineup is readily available for the final match. However, forward Louis Saha is unavailable due to suspension.

Saturday's meeting is nothing new for either country, as the final match marks the 33rd overall meeting. Italy has won 17 and lost 7 to hold the edge in the overall series. The two teams have drawn eight times. Saturday is the fifth World Cup meeting between the two countries. The two faced each other in the 1998 quarterfinals, which France won 4-3 on penalties.