This is one of those trivia questions where memory can mislead. 2-1 feels like a classic football result, but World Cup finals have not followed that pattern often enough.
By contrast:
World Cup finals are supposed to be tense, cautious occasions, and many are. But the historical record is less defensive than the stereotype. The spread of 4-2 finals across different eras matters: one came in the early years of the tournament, one in the mid-century game, one in extra time on home soil for England, and one in the modern era with France and Croatia trading attacks.
That range makes the answer more striking. It is not a quirk tied to one generation or one tactical trend. It is a genuine World Cup oddity.
The broader point is simple: football memory tends to cling to famous winners, not recurring scorelines. A result like 2-1 sounds right, but the archive says otherwise. The next time World Cup history becomes quiz-night material, 4-2 is the scoreline to keep in mind - and it will likely resurface whenever the next round of tournament nostalgia begins.