The 42-year-old refereed the exciting opener between Germany and Ecuador as well as the Poland-England quarterfinal, which ended in penalties and saw Wayne Rooney sent off.

"I thought the opening match would be the greatest game of my life, but now I'm incredibly happy. I don't have words to describe it," he said after learning the news Thursday following a phone call from Algerian Belaid Lacarne, a member of FIFA's refereeing committee.

It is the first time an Argentine will referee a World Cup final. And immediately after hearing the decision, Elizondo buried his face in his hands for several seconds.

"It was like when (Gaston) Gaudio won the French Open. He wanted the moment for himself and I wanted the same thing," he said. "Suddenly everybody wants to speak to me, but I will prepare for the final like I always do for a match."

The physical education teacher, who has been a referee since 1994, will be assisted by compatriots Dario Garcia and Rodolfo Otero.

The 2002 final in Japan was refereed by Pierluigi Collina. With the Italian's retirement, German Markus Merk and Slovakian Lubos Michel had been among the favourites for the honour.

Japan's Toru Kamikawa will take charge of Saturday's match for third place between Germany and Portugal.

--DPA