With four games remaining the total of 138 goals puts this tournament only marginally ahead of 1990 as the worst in history with 2.3 goals per game compared with a best of 5.38 in 1954, hardly a surprise with so many teams opting to play with just one striker.
Bookings and red cards are at a record high, with almost six cautions per game compared with fewer than two in 1982, and if there was a scientific measure for simulation it would be off the scale.
It all looked so different on the goal-laden opening day when Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 and Ecuador upset Poland 2-0.
There were several other good games in the first week of the tournament in Germany, with Argentina's 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, Spain's sweeping 4-0 demolition of Ukraine and Australia's dramatic late 3-1 comeback win over Japan the pick.
The second set of games saw the two most memorable performances as Argentina beat Serbia & Montenegro 6-0 with a sumptuous display and Ghana showed an irrepressible commitment to attack in their 2-0 win over Czech Republic.
However, as qualification loomed, fear took over and the well of sportsmanship began to run dry.
Only Ghana and Australia, who showed that country's terrific sporting mettle to hold Croatia and go through from Group F, really upset the predictions.
The deterioration continued in the second round where England were awful in beating Ecuador 1-0 and Ukraine's penalties win over Switzerland followed one of the most unambitious two hours of World Cup history.
Some of the greatest drama came via a record four red cards and 16 yellows in Portugal's shambolic 1-0 win over the Dutch.
The quarter-finals were high on tension but short on fireworks as Germany got through on penalties, as they always do, and England went out the same way, as they always do.
Italy hardly broke sweat to beat Ukraine 3-0 while France produced the high spot with a performance of soaring confidence to knock out holders Brazil, who rarely hit their stride.
Zidane shines
The improvement of the 1998 champions has been one of the few tournament highlights, with 34-year-old Zinedine Zidane, set to retire, showing all his mastery as he plays each international knowing it could be his last.
Hosts Germany have also shown a refreshing commitment to attacking soccer under coach Juergen Klinsmann.
Players from a number of countries have been guilty of constant diving and feigning injury, cheating that FIFA softens by calling "simulation" and that seems to be spiralling out of control in the international game.
The convention of kicking the ball out of play to allow for treatment - once only done for head wounds - is now so abused that players remonstrate with opponents who have the temerity to play on while a player 50 metres away falls to the ground.
Culpable referees have consistently allowed such theatrics to stop play while at the same time flashing red and yellow cards for the most innocuous of challenges.
Now, with the final so tantalisingly close, there is a danger that fear will again stifle ambition and produce two more nerve-jangling but tight semi-finals.
There is always the hope that the four teams cut loose to give us a repeat of the Italy 4 West Germany 3 semi-final of 1970, recently voted the best World Cup match of all time, or the 1984 European Championship semi when France overcame Portugal 3-2 in another extra-time classic.