Day 25:-

Germany vs. Argentina: Part 3:-

Germany began extra time by going all-out in attack with some urgent play early-on, pressing high and switching sides quickly as they looked to utilize their extra energy reserves; after all, they did get ONE more complete day of rest compared to Argentina’s squad!

Argentina were not potent enough on the counter when they got the ball on the break and were not able to get the right momentum going into the opposition’s final third; offering barely anything of notice.

The Germans were now playing with almost 7 or 8 players fully in Argentina’s own half; but, for all that added physical presence, they were unable to time their runs into the box correctly as their somewhat poor positional play hindered their chances of combining well enough in front of goal to find the back of the net.

It was an intense start from Germany in that first half of extra time; however, they could not kick it into high gear for the remaining 10-12 minutes as they seemed unable to find the proper passes and spaces in the box.

Argentina, on the other hand, were largely subdued in attack, and they appeared to be slowing down their own tempo going forward on the counter!


Fatigue was slowly kicking-in as the second half of extra time moved on, with far too many physical tussles on display.

Then, the unthinkable happened!

Germany launched an attack down the left side with a pass from Kroos to Schürrle, who then ran the channel before sending in a brilliant cross for a totally-unmarked Mario Götze to beautifully chest it down and swing it across with his left foot for a German 1-0 lead!

It was an absolute nightmare from an Argentinean perspective; for they have been defending so well for most of the game and threw it all away due to ONE defensive mistake.

Martín Demichelis was the culprit there; as he was caught way out of position in the build-up to the goal, and his lack of pace prevented him from quickly recovering and closing Götze down!

Argentina immediately pressed Germany back into their own half and threw extra bodies forward in a feeble attempt to grab a late equalizer; but it was all a little too late and too lethargic.

Indeed, it was one moment of defensive inattention on Argentina’s behalf which saw Germany grab that goal.


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The Argentineans, at the end of it all, probably paid for their rather overly cautious and defensive approach, given all the attacking firepower they had at their disposal.

However, they showed great tactical, technical, physical, mental and spiritual resolve to reach the final and go head-to-head with this talented German side.

Now, whether or not Lionel Messi will get another close chance at World Cup glory remains to be seen, but one certainly cannot blame Argentina’s ultimately failed WC campaign entirely on him; for he single-handedly carried his team into the knock-out stages with some moments of absolute individual brilliance.


On the other hand, Germany fully deserved this win as they have proven to the world that they are, first and foremost, a great team with a real footballing identity and solid foundations on so many levels.

Coach Löw and his entire staff should be applauded for their acute readings of games and the willingness to be as flexible as the tournament had dictated upon them.

They had some really big obstacles to overcome way before the tournament even begun, but they passed almost every single test with flying colors.

The players displayed some magnificent performances throughout the tournament and it is a difficult case to argue against the fact that each and every single squad member played a vital role in their eventual World Cup triumph.


Standing ovations all around and hats off to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions: Germany!!!


Man of the match: Bastian Schweinsteiger:-

A lot of responsibility was placed on his shoulders from the beginning of the match given Khedira’s injury, in addition to Kramer’s subsequent withdrawal; but he shrugged it all off as he had an excellent game in midfield and didn’t allow Messi much room to breathe either!

Day 25:-

Germany vs. Argentina: Part 2:-

Coach Sabella decided to bring on Sergio Agüero after the break as he looked to inject more urgency and energy into Argentina’s play; slightly tweaking his formation in the process, with Lionel Messi dropping a bit deeper, Lucas Biglia in the now-vacant LM role and Agüero being deployed as a pure second-striker behind Higuaín.



The second half witnessed Argentina begin with a more aggressive offensive approach as they committed more bodies forward. Germany, on the other hand, were defending a bit deeper than they did in the 1st half.

It didn’t take long for the pace and rhythm to truly settle, and Germany were naturally enjoying more possession of the ball and attempting to break through Argentina’s backline from central areas rather than from out wide.

The Argentineans reverted to some long vertical play for a while in an attempt to catch Germany’s backline off-guard and hope to quickly break through on goal.

Germany's attacks were still suffering from their inability to deliver that final ball into the box as Lahm and Kroos were now pushing further forward.

Argentina’s “laid back” approach and lack of urgency going forward, coupled with a number of physical duels, all constantly chopped down the game’s tempo.

Germany then began to slowly adapt more and more to the game’s rhythm; playing better with the ball and correctly finding spaces at the back.

Meanwhile, Argentina rightly addressed the issue of the shortage of physical presence in the box and were now focusing play entirely down the right channel; but they were somewhat unable to hold onto possession and also had problems finding the right spaces behind Germany’s defense as Higuaín and Agüero were too static in their positional play.

As the 90 minutes drew ever closer, the Germans began to throw many bodies forward and they genuinely pressed Argentina back into their final third in search of that first (and, at this stage, probably winning) goal.

However, Klose’s inability to quickly adapt to the forward momentum saw him being constantly caught out of position as play was wasted from Germany’s point of view.

Which is, probably, why coach Löw decided to bring on Mario Götze for the current World Cup record goalscorer in the final few minutes, with Germany now deciding to play-out the rest of the game with their “false nine” system.

Coach Sabella also brought on some fresh legs in the latter stages of normal time (which was his last "playing card" after Rodrigo Palacio came on for Higuaín a while ago), with Fernando Gago now replacing Enzo Pérez in yet another slight tweak of Argentina’s formation; Biglia dropping back to the center of midfield in a holding 4-3-3/4-3-1-2 variation.



Neither substitution had any significant effect on the way the game went on; as both sides were unable to make the most out of ball possession and could not create any real chances from open play. Germany, though, still looked the more dangerous side going forward.

It was another somewhat enthralling second half, albeit with less intensity in comparison to the first!

Germany were more commanding in attack and were able to get into better positions than they did before the break. They also exchanged play well, but almost always lacked that final touch into the box and weren’t able to convert their chances from open play.

Argentina continued to play with great discipline at the back and they covered spaces well practically all over the pitch; they did, however, have a couple of lapses in concentration in defense that could have cost them dearly (more on that soon!).

In attack, they lacked urgency at times, and at others, their 2 strikers were a tad too static in their positioning.

Moreover, their shortage of offensive options from central areas in midfield forced them to (uselessly) drift play out wide more often than not.

Day 25:-

Germany vs. Argentina: Part 1:-





The Germans are crowned Champions in a memorable 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, to the delight of a large part of the host nation and many neutrals, as Messi and co. were unable to bring the glory home!


Germany’s Coach Joachim Löw picked the same formation and tactical set-up from the previous 2 knock-out games; but, he was forced to slightly change the line-up approximately 15 minutes prior to kick-off because of a calf injury that Semi Khedira suffered during the warm-up session.

As for Argentina, Coach Alejandro Sabella also stuck with his tried-and-tested tactical layout from the previous games; however, in comparison the semi-final against the Dutch, coach Sabella decided to play Enzo Pérez and Lavezzi out wide this time, as opposed to the former playing in a central midfield triangle and the latter as a support striker.


The final got underway with a high tempo to it; Germany playing a high-block game and controlling most of the possession, and Argentina defending deep while looking to break quickly on the counter.

The Argentineans were successfully exploiting the space and lack of pace down Germany’s left defensive side as they looked to make the most of Benedikt Höwedes’ (a natural CB) lack of experience in an LB role; however, they were short of physical presence in the box, and that lead to them being unable to convert some dangerous crosses from the right attacking flank.

The Germans were moving well forward, opting to cross more into the box than to play through balls on the ground in an attempt for Klose to perhaps expose Demichelis’ defensive weaknesses; but they were incapable of getting that final touch into the box correctly.

There were some physical tussles about midway through the first half that slowed down the game’s tempo constantly, while Gonzalo Higuaín missed a glorious opportunity to take the lead when Toni Kroos mistakenly headed the ball back into his own box.

Germany were probing for spaces just around the opposition’s box and were using the full width of the pitch while they patiently passed the ball around in midfield. It did seem apparent at the time that they needed a bit more urgency going forward.

Argentina, meanwhile, were still defending deep and relying on counter-attacks from the back; but they weren’t very effective when they actually broke play forward.

As the half came to an end, the game became much more open as both sides began to attack with more flair and potency either end of the pitch.

Argentina pressed slightly higher up the pitch in the final few minutes after Germany’s Christoph Kramer (who was having a rather good game) was forced off due to a concussion; ironic given how he was brought in to replace the injured Khedira!

Given Germany’s lack of DMs on the bench now, Toni Kroos had to drop deep and play in the 2nd DM role in front of the German backline, with Özil deputizing in the AM role (his favored position if you may) and Andre Schürrle being subbed-in and deployed on the left side of attack as the Germans looked to regroup.

All in all, Germany played with real attacking grit in the first half and were very unlucky to lose those players to injury in such a short space of time. They played well in offense but were constantly unable to provide the correct final touch in and around the opposition’s final third. Their defense was not that bad either, but sometimes seemed flustered and unable to easily deal with Argentina’s pace out wide.

The Argentineans executed their game plan almost perfectly, and they were considerably stable at the back for the most part (Demichelis proving to be the weakest link though). In midfield, they were better at tracking back than going forward at times; and in attack, they did not hold anything back as they constantly ran at the German defenders and sometimes caused havoc in their box.

However, Argentina's clear lack of attacking physical presence in the box, largely as a result of Higuaín having to drift wide to draw defenders out of position, was hindering their chances of converting the numerous good deliveries they provided.