Germany Wins 2014 FIFA World Cup Title By Defeating Argentina 1-0 In Extra Time

Germany have won the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a stunning extra time goal by Mario Götze. Die Mannschaft has defeated South American giants Argentina 1-0 at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro to take their fourth FIFA World Cup crown.

Germany 1-0 Argentina

(Götze 113')

The final match of the month-long World Cup was preceded by the clong ceremony where various artists performed in front of an electrified crown who came to the stadium early to eagerly await the fate of the two teams that were set to clash for the ultimate prize in football.

Barcelona's Carles Puyol and Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen arrived with the trophy enclosed in its Louis Vuitton case which could be remembered from when Italy's Fabio Cannavarro brought it out to be passed on to Spain in South Africa 2010.

Argentina's Early Threat

The match started with a clear opportunity from Gonzalo Higuain in the opening three minutes when he was able to break away on a counter attack to find himself along with Manuel Neuer. He took his shot and was only able to send the ball across the face of the goal and the Germans have narrowly escaped the same fate as Brazil in the bronze medal match who found themselves down by a goal inside the opening three minutes.

The rest of the first half has pretty much the same theme with Argentina threatening the goal more times than Germany. It was clear that the 7-1 thrashing would not happen here as Argentina's solid defensive line was able to keep the Germans from approaching Sergio Romero.

Toni Kroos made a crucial mistake when he headed away a ball only to find it landing conveniently for Gonzalo Higuain to make an attack. One-on-one once again against Neuer, Higuain only managed to shoot off target and Kroos was lucky to have escaped a potentially embarrassing consequence of his misstep.

Higuain eventually did find the back of the net before the 30-minute mark but it was ruled offside and replays show no doubt that the referee's assistant judged correctly.

Germans Retaliate

Christoph Kramer, a last minute replacement for Sami Khedira found himself dazed and confused when he was bulldozed with a shoulder to the face. Andre Schurrle was brought in and the double goal scorer against Brazil immediately made his presence felt by putting Sergio Romero to work with his first real challenging save of the day.

Klose was able to make an attempt to extend his goal tally and raise the World Cup record bar but Romero was able to put him in his place. Benedikt Howedes was able to hit the crossbar off a corner which left the goal open on the rebound but Muller was deemed offside and was unable to capitalise on the opportunity.

Both teams had a fair share of opportunities in the second half with a goal seeming to be impending at every turn. In the end neither team buckled and the match was forced into extra time

Götze Seals the Deal

The extra-time pace was relentless. Both teams attacked furiously and it was clear that both teams wanted to settle the tie with a clear goal and not through penalties.

In the end, it was Germany's substitutes who dealt the death blow to Argentina. Schurrle and Götze teamed up to weave through the Argentine defence and a swift shot at a sharp angle threw off Romero and he was left with no chance against Götze's winner which came in at the 133th minute leaving Argentina very little time to attempt an equaliser.

In the end, the lone goal was enough to hand the Germans the title. Argentina may have arguably the best player in the world in Lionel Messi but the Germans have proven that their world class team, a product of a decade of planning can neutralize any superstar that stand in their way. It was their substitutes that crafted the winning goal a testament to the depth of talent in the German squad. All the hard work has paid off and Germany are 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions.