The culmination of over a month’s worth of twists and turns and fabulous story-lines in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finally came to a head at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro for the final match of the tournament.
The final would feature the two best teams of the tournament so far in Germany and Argentina and a match-up of rivals of World Cups past would square off with a score to settle.
In the shadow of their destruction of the hosts Brazil only days before by a scoreline of 7-1, Germany knew they would be in for a lot tougher fight against one of the tournament’s most stout defenses.
Both teams looked set to carry the same line-ups into the final as they had played with in the semis until a shock injury to Real Madrid (and reported Chelsea target) midfielder Sami Khedira in the warm-up led to him being scratched in favor of Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer.
The first parts of the game were a very lively affair with Germany controlling most of the possession but Argentina having the better of the chances.
Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain would be given several chances in the first half and had the best chance of the match in the 21st minute when FC Bayern’s Toni Kroos would look to head the ball back to defense but passed it straight to Higuain who was standing in an offside position. With only FC Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer between him and the goal, Higuain would take the shot from about 16 yards but the ball would bounce up off his shin and only make contact with his ankle. Due to the missed contact the ball would slice to the left and go well wide of Neuer’s goal.
Higuain would celebrate a presumed goal scored in the 30th minute when Barcelona’s Lionel Messi would pick out a wide open Ezequiel Lavezzi on the right wing. His cross in would find an unmarked Higuain whose effort would be tapped in from 6 yards out. As he wheeled away in celebration the referee’s assistant on the far side had flagged for offsides and the goal was erased.
A nasty collision involving SL Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay and Kramer would force Germany to make an early substitution as the late replacement for Khedira was forced off due to an apparent concussion. On in his place would come Chelsea FC’s Andre Schurrle in the 32nd minute and the midfielder from SW6 was given 90+ minutes to prove himself on the world’s biggest stage.
Schurrle would make his impact on the game in the 37th minute when FC Bayern winger Thomas Muller would cut a ball back to the Chelsea man from the left wing to the edge of the box. Schurrle would rip his shot first time with the inside of his right boot. It would go to the near post and straight into the arms of AS Monaco goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Messi would follow up with an effort of his own as he would run past Dortmund’s Mats Hummels in defense and into the left side of the box. With no support Messi would flash an effort across the face of goal that would pop up off a charging Neuer before being cleared off of the line by FC Bayern’s Jerome Boateng.
After a tense but entertaining first half both teams headed into their locker rooms with match still scoreless at 0-0.
The half would bring a change for Argentina as Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero would come on to replace PSG’s Lavezzi. This change would nearly pay quick dividends as Argentina controlled the opening minutes of the 2nd half.
Messi would have the best of the early chances in the 2nd half in the 47th minute when his disguised run between the central defenders put him in on goal. From the left side of the box he tried to hit a left footed effort to the far post on the right side but it was about a foot or two wide of the target.
With only a few half chances to speak of from either team the remainder of the 2nd half, the 2014 FIFA World Cup final was headed to extra time still tied at 0-0.
FC Bayern’s Mario Gotze had so far been missing for Germany throughout the tournament with his expectations of playing as a false 9 and being a crucial part of the Germany side proving only to be a myth up until this point. Gotze would be gifted with a chance to prove his worth to his team on the biggest stage of them all as he would come on to replace Germany’s all time leading scorer and record goal scorer in World Cup tournament play Miroslav Klose shortly before the end of regulation in the 88th minute.
The two changes in the match made by German head coach Joachim Low would prove to be vital for the Germans in the 113th minute when Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle would receive the ball on the left wing and run down the line beating two Argentina defenders in the process. He would play a cross to the near post to an unmarked Gotze who would beautifully control the ball with his chest on the first touch. His 2nd touch would be the vital shot as his momentum was carrying him to the ground, Gotze was able to unleash a left footed shot towards the far right post. Romero dove to protect the near post and the ball trickled into the far corner to put Germany into the history books as champions.
A fantastic tournament and the best ever in my memory would come to a close after a month that provided the world with some of the best memories in World Cup history. Following are the results of the tournament for teams and individuals.
Champions- Germany
Runners-up- Argentina
3rd place- Holland
4th place- Brazil
Manuel Neuer (Germany) Golden Glove for Best Goalkeeper
Lionel Messi (Argentina) Golden Ball for tournament’s best player
James Rodriguez (Colombia) Golden Boot for having scored the most goals (6)
Paul Pogba (France) Best Young Player
Fair Play Award Colombia for having best disciplinary record of the tournament.
