On Sunday July 13, 2014 Germany and Argentina competed in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final. The two teams endured a long journey throughout the course of the World Cup. Both teams worked hard in order to make it to the final, but in the end only one team would earn the title of the World Cup Champion and be officially recognized as the number one team in the world.

  At the start of the match, Germany and Argentina both knew that it would not be an easy game for either side. Both teams proved their strength and abilities in past games. Germany’s performance in the semifinals proved that they are a strong team. Germany’s 7-1 victory against Brazil proved that they can take on the toughest of teams.

  The first half of the game remained scoreless. The two teams were evenly matched for the majority of the game. While the teams were evenly matched up, Germany continued to put pressure on Argentina’s defense throughout the entire game. Germany had 7 shots on goal while Argentina only had 2.

  When the game came to an end and  the 90 minutes of regulation time was up, the match was still tied 0-0. It was time to go into two fifteen minute periods of overtime. With both teams on edge, the score remained 0-0 after the first overtime period. Germany and Argentina continued to fight for their title. However, in the second overtime period, at the 113th minute, midfielder Mario Gotze scored the winning goal for Germany. After the game Gotze commented, “It’s an unbelievable feeling, I don’t know how to describe it. I just took the shot and didn’t know what was happening. For us, the dream has become reality.”

  At the end of the 30 minutes overtime, Germany won the match against Argentina with a final score of 1-0. Germany coach Joachim Low said, “It was good that we had [a player] who could come on and make an impact, and [Mario] Gotze is a miracle boy – a boy wonder. I always knew he could decide the match.” The 22 year old came off the bench and scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup Final.

  While Germany came out on top, both teams played and fought very hard throughout  the entire game. Both Germany and Argentina deserve to be applauded for their many accomplishments. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella stated, “My players were warriors and I congratulated them afterwards because, beyond the sadness of the result, a coach must always assess his team’s performance – and I believe that was quite good. They left everything on the pitch. The match was very even.”