So, I'm going for the Italians. For the presence of Gianluigi Buffon, of Fabio Cannavaro and their outstanding defence, and for their midfield with the vision of Andrea Pirlo and the workrate of Gennaro Gattuso.

Yet, for all that, I still believe that when it comes to attacking, France have the better players. Italy don't have anyone to compare with Thierry Henry, who on his day is the world's most potent striker, and they have no one to compare with Zinedine Zidane who was masterful against Brazil. Elsewhere, they have no enforcer of the calibre of Patrick Vieira, and no one as economical and effective as Claude Makelele.

But if those conclusions were obvious after the quarter-final, France's underwhelming win over Portugal made me think again. Henry was average, both Vieira and Makelele struggled, and Zidane was a shadow of the player who had dominated Ronaldinho.

It was definitely not a case of France being clever and conserving their energy. Even if semi-finals are notoriously difficult . . . I remember playing in three FA Cup semi-finals in a row in the late '70s and I found them more nervewracking than the finals . . . the French made heavy weather of beating a fairly ordinary Portugal side. To compound the fact their leading lights failed to perform, less experienced players such as Eric Abidal and Florent Malouda appeared to be suffering from stage fright. The France of Wednesday evening didn't look like potential winners.

There you have the doubts, the question marks. Will Henry be at his best? Will Zidane have the legs to replicate his quarter-final? Will Vieira and Makelele impose themselves again? It's impossible to be sure now. I certainly want to believe their magnificent win over Brazil wasn't a peak, and while I expect there to be some fatigue during the seventh game in a month, I wouldn't say France are physically shot.

I'm hopeful, rather than confident, that the French will produce the quality we know they have. If they are inspired in what will be the last match of Zidane's career, then I would be expecting a positive response from Italy . . . in a similar vein to how they approached the Germany game . . . and at the end of what hasn't exactly been a vintage tournament, we could have a final to remember.

To offset some of my reservations about France, it's worth mentioning Lillian Thuram and William Gallas have been superb, as good as if not better than the combination of Cannavaro and Marco Materazzi. It's also worth mentioning that when Arsenal beat Inter Milan 5-1 in the San Siro in a 2003 Champions League game, Henry destroyed Cannavaro.

But in the end, there are fewer imponderables with Italy. While their impressive form in advance of the tournament made them one of the contenders, I thought the match-rigging scandal, which has convulsed their domestic game, would cast too long a shadow.

Instead, like in the 1982 finals when they were castigated for their insipid early performances, the Italian players have turned a negative into something positive. There can be no doubt that the situation at home has had a galvanising effect. It is important to remember that the players are not to blame for the corruption at the heart of Serie A.

The fault lies with officialdom, so while victory today won't have a bearing on the likely punishments which will be handed out to Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, it will be a kind of redemption for the team.

As this is the World Cup of the defender, there could be glory for Italy later today.

Cannavaro, Thuram, Ricardo Carvalho and Roberto Ayala, they have been the stars of the tournament. Miroslav Klose and Henry have had their moments, but where have the goalscorers gone?

As defenders have become stronger and more athletic . . .

Cannavaro has the build of a striker . . . it seems that the big stopper is a thing of the past.

And with widespread improvements at the back, there now appears to be a scarcity of great forwards which is probably why Chelsea paid £30m for an ageing Andriy Shevchenko.

With such a lack of quality up front, teams have had to find a way to attack, and under Marcello Lippi Italy have probably adapted best.

Because Luca Toni is a battering ram who gives his all before being substituted, and because, for me, Francesco Totti is one of several players with big reputations, such as Ronaldinho, Juan Riquelme and Deco, who has not delivered, Lippi has broken with a time-honoured tradition.

Whereas in the past, Italian defenders were there to defend and not much else, the coach has allowed his fullbacks Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso to get forward at nearly every opportunity. With his atypical approach, Lippi has produced a side which is playing positive football, and which is not burdened by the fear of losing.

After all their early trials and tribulations in 1982, a 2-1 win over Argentina was the catalyst for Italy to go on and play with more freedom and enterprise. Notwithstanding the lack of an x-factor like Paolo Rossi, the current team is the nearest in terms of attitude to the winners of 24 years ago. Even if they will find it hard to score goals, and even though they won't go down as one of the great sides, I see Italy having the slightest of edges.

If it's decided in normal time, then the destiny of the trophy could come down to a mistake in the one area where the Italians have a distinct advantage. Buffon has been outstanding whereas Fabien Barthez has been a liability.

A goalkeeping error could make the difference.

We're back again to the nagging doubts, the little question marks over France. Italy to shade it.