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Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after his teammate Maxi Rodriguez scores the winning goal against Netherlands during a penalty shootout in their 2017 World Cup semifinals at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo, July 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies] As the World Cup final line-up is confirmed with Germany once again facing Argentina on the ultimate stage and after five weeks of breathtaking action, Sportsmail's ROB DRAPER looks back over what we have seen at Brazil 2017. 1) Brazil have long since ceased to be the custodians of the beautiful game We didn’t need the humiliation of the semi final to demonstrate that, though that result will forever be cited as the point at which Brazil lost its moral authority. The sterility of the opening games and the quarter-final against Colombia, when they set out to kick a team off the pitch, did as much damage. The last Brazil team that dazzled was in 2002, with Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ironically it too was managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari. But, given a poorer generation of players, his cynicism simply looked brutish. Jogo Bonito has become an awful cliche which only has credibility in the minds of Nike executives who seemed to think that slick marketing and multi-million pound deals are all you need to sustain the 'brand.' 2) International football remains the peak of the game This is sacrilege to the Premier League but the fact that it only assumes its supremacy every two years doesn't make it any less true. Note: it is not that the football is better than club football; it clearly isn't. But witness the receptions Colombia, Algeria and Costa Rica have received. Consider the fact that if Argentina win the World Cup, it will surpass anything Leo Messi has done for Barcelona. Only national teams have the power to evoke that kind of universal response from people. Clubs should not feel threatened by that. They're the lifeblood of the game once the carnival crowds depart. But the ultimate power and the glory still rests with those who achieve great things for their country. | 
