It was a game where you felt the team that scores the 1st goal will win, and the Germans did exactly that late on in extra time.
Mario Gotze, who replaced all time World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose in extra time, got on the end of an Andre Schurrle cross and slotted the ball past Argentinian goal keeper Romero. The goal came in the 113th minute and left the Albiceleste with very less time to react.
Although the game remained 0-0 for 112 minutes, it often got fans out of their seats. There were chances, especially for Argentina with Gonzalo Higuain being the culprit of missing the 1st real chance of the game as he dragged his shot wide after an error by Toni Kroos. Germany kept creating half chances as their attackers were neutralized by Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia who shielded the Argentinian defense.
Rodrigo Palacio should have given the Argentinians the lead in extra time but couldn’t get past the eventual Golden Glove winner Manuel Neuer. At the end, Mario Gotze came up with a piece of individual brilliance that the game was lacking as he controlled the ball with his chest and then produced a finish to match it. The goal was enough as it came late on and gave Germany the title of 4-time World Cup champions.
