Germany was crowned world champions for the 4th time in their history after beating Argentina in the final game in Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. In a tight game that finished scoreless in regular time, Germans dominated the overtime periods and scored the winning goal in the 113th minute to claim their fourth world cup title.
The two teams already faced off in the final of the world cup in 1986 and 1990 where each one of them won once. The win made Germany the first European team to win the World Cup in a South American country.
The winning goal was scored by Mario Goetze in the 23rd minute into extra time when Andre Schuerrle made a long run up to the left wing and whipped a cross into the box where Goetze volleyed it inside the far post.
The 22 year-old scorer said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. When you score that goal, you don’t really know what is happening. At the end of the match, it was indescribable, having a party with the team. A dream became a reality. It is absolutely sensational.”
Argentina missed a couple of opportunities that could have changed the tenor of the game. The first came 20 minutes into the game when Gonzalo Higuain missed the net after a mistake made by Germany Toni Kroos. Higuain scored shortly after but was ruled offside. After halftime, Messi missed an opportunity when his shot towards the far post flew out wide.
The golden boot(Best Scorer) went to Colombia’s James Rodriguez who managed to score 6 goals. The golden ball(Best Player during the tournament) was awarded to Lionel Messi while Manuel Neuer was named best goalkeeper of the tournament.
