Germany wins World Cup
Germany have won the World Cup beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
Bayern Munich star Goetze struck in the 113th minute to finally break Argentina’s resistance as Lionel Messi’s dream of emulating Diego Maradona ended in defeat.
The decisive moment of a World Cup brimming with wonderful goals came with penalties looming in front of 74,738 fans at Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana Stadium.
Andre Schuerrle burst clear down the left flank and crossed for Goetze.
The 22-year-old took the ball on his chest and then volleyed past Sergio Romero to spark delirium amongst the largely pro-German crowd.
Argentina and Messi were left squandering a handful of gilt-edged chances, including one that fell to Messi in the second half.
Messi was largely anonymous for most of the evening and his miserable evening was summed up when a late free-kick to equalise sailed over the bar.
The victory was celebrated raucously by Brazilians in the crowd, who had dreaded the prospect of sworn South American rivals Argentina lifting the title in their backyard.
Back in Europe, Germany erupted in ecstasy, with fans dancing the night away.
Fireworks exploded across Berlin as supporters cheering the 1-0 win thronged the streets and honking cars snaked their way through crowds, with black, red and gold flags flapping in the wind.
More than 200,000 fans jumped for joy in the heart of the capital, singing “Oh, it’s beautiful!” and chanting “Super Deutschland”.
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The German capital closed the so-called Fan Mile to traffic behind the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of national unity, to make way for revellers cheering on the German side in its showdown against Argentina.
“This victory is hugely important – it’s my first!” said Carsten Glaser, 20.
He said while the Germans were a “team”, “Argentina only had (Lionel) Messi.”
Many fans saw the victory as having a deeper historical resonance, coming a long 24 years after West Germany beat Argentina in 1990 just months before the country overcame its Cold War division.
“This victory is important for reunified Germany,” Thorsten Kinscher, a 34-year-old employee in the shipping industry, said.
“It shows we are really in this together.”
Crowds surpassed the 200,000 maximum capacity on the Fan Mile hours before the match, an event spokeswoman said.
Millions more huddled in front of screens at beer gardens, bars, sports clubs and sitting rooms across the country to watch the match from Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Maracana stadium.
Anett Voelker, 42, said it had been a long 24-year wait for a fourth star for the German jerseys.
“It’s been a super championship for reunited Germany – a feeling of even greater unity,” she said.
An absorbing first half had seen Germany forced into a reshuffle moments before kick-off with inexperienced Christoph Kramer replacing Sami Khedira after the Real Madrid star injured a calf in the warm up.
With Bastian Schweinsteiger running midfield the Germans laid siege to Argentinian territory, passing smoothly and denying Messi a route into the game.
Yet for all Germany’s early dominance they created little in the way of clear chances.
And it was Argentina who were presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring.
Toni Kroos misdirected a header back to Manuel Neuer to send Gonzalo Higuain racing through on goal.
But with only Neuer to beat the Napoli striker dragged his shot wide to disbelief from fans and team-mates.
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Germany continued to probe for openings, and a Philipp Lahm pass almost put Thomas Mueller clear.
Moments later, Argentina had the ball in the net only to see the goal disallowed for offside.
Messi released Lavezzi down the right who swept in a low cross for Higuain who drilled his finish past Neuer before wheeling away in delight.
Higuain’s roar of celebration was cut short however after Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli whistled, correctly, for offside.
Andre Schuerrle drew a fine near-post save from Romero on 37 minutes with a rasping shot after Mueller’s cutback.
On the stroke of half-time Benedikt Hoewedes came within inches of scoring, crashing a header from a Kroos corner against the post.
The second half followed a similar pattern, Germany controlling possession but Argentina often threatening on the break.
Messi squandered another golden Argentinian chance two minutes after the restart, latching onto a pass from Lucas Biglia but scuffing his shot wide of Neuer.
The remainder of the half saw neither stride able to get on top. Penalties looked to be the likeliest outcome, but Goetze had other ideas.
After the match Mario Goetze said he felt “unbelievable” after scoring the extra-time goal.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said the Bayern Munich forward after etching his name into World Cup legend at the iconic Maracana.
“I don’t know how to describe it. You just score that goal and you don’t really know what’s happening after that.
“It’ll be a party with the whole team and the country. It’s a dream come true to win the World Cup, especially in Brazil.”
It was a cathartic moment for the 22-year-old, who left his boyhood club Borussia Dortmund for Bayern last year in a 37 million euros ($A54.42 million) transfer that rocked German football.
Goetze struggled to hold down a first team place in his maiden campaign at Bayern and he admitted that he had endured a testing 12 months.
“It hasn’t been a simple year for me or a simple tournament. I owe a lot to my family and my girlfriend (model Ann Kathrin Brommel), who always believed in me,” he said.
“It’s not been simple, but I am simply happy to be here. I kept on training and working hard, and we deserved this trophy.”
Goetze’s winning goal in Monday’s final more than makes up for below-par performances in the World Cup group games. He was left on the bench for the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil in the semi-finals.
He was quiet in the 4-0 opening thumping of Portugal, then scored Germany’s opening goal with his knee having mistimed his header in the 2-2 draw against Ghana before coming off in the 69th minute.
Joachim Loew then brought him off the bench late in the nervy 1-0 win over the US, but Goetze played only the first half of the 2-1 extra time win over Algeria in the last 16.
He only came on for the last seven minutes of the 1-0 quarter-final victory over France but will be now be remembered for deciding the final on his return to Rio.
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