Tuesday, July 15, 2014

MARIO GOTZE STUNNER WINS FOURTH WORLD CUP FOR GERMANY





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WORLD CUP FINAL: ARGENTINA 0(0) - GERMANY 0(1) AET

Germany finally won the World Cup for the fourth time in a dramatic way after beating Argentina 1-0 score in a high octane match, at the Maracana Stadium. Fresh from beating Brazil with 7-1 score last Wednesday, The Germans showed to the world that they are the new King of of football and Joachim Low have answered his critics by becoming the first man to lead a European team to win the World Cup glory on South American soil.

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Argentina should have had an early goal but Gonzalo Higuain blew the chance away after the striker shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat. A few minutes later, he tapped in Ezequiel Lavezzi's cross but was unfortunate to be caught offside. Then, Lionel Messi sent the ball past Neuer, but Jerome Boateng cleared the ball away.

After the restart, Messi threatened the Germany defense again, but his shot went wide. Miroslav Klose record-breaking career ended when he was substituted the 88th minute by Mario Gotze. A minute later, Gotze had a chance to end the game early but his shot went into Sergio Romero's arm and the referee ended the 90 minutes play without any score. 

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The additional extra time begins with Thomas Muller returned Andre Schurrle pass and he fired a strong half-volleyed drive which Romero did well to parry the ball. Argentina had their big chance when Matt Hummels failed to clear the cross but Palacio lob just went over the crossbar. As the game looks to end with a penalty shoot-out, Mario Gotze brilliantly chested down Andre Schurrle's superb cross and volleyed home to cap a historic victory for the jubilant Germans in the 113th minutes.

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Thursday, July 10, 2014

ARGENTINA WINS SHOOTOUT TO ADVANCE TO WORLD CUP FINAL





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WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL: ARGENTINA 0(4) - NETHERLANDS 0(2)

Argentina scored all four penalty kicks in a shootout against the Netherlands on Wednesday in São Paulo to advance to the World Cup final for the first time since 1990. Lionel Messi made the first and his teammates Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez followed suit to earn Argentina a date with Germany in Sunday's final in Rio de Janeiro. The Netherlands missed two of their first three attempts, with first Ron Vlaar and then Wesley Sneijder seeing their shots saved by Argentina's goalkeeper, Sergio Romero.

After 120 minutes of scoreless exasperation in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday that was by turns tense, cautious, clumsy, gripping and stubbornly unyielding. There was little space to move, few chances to score. Sometimes the match was as dreary as the misty evening chill. If it possessed any beauty, it was not in gracefulness but in stark, struggling exertion. 

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Sergio Romero, Argentina's goalkeeper, was poised in the shootout, unsettling the Dutch on the very first kick. He dived to his left, parried a shot by defender Ron Vlaar and kissed his gloves. Later, Romero repelled a shot by Wesley Sneijder and pounded his chest. And finally, Argentina defeated the Netherlands by 4-2 on penalty kicks and advanced to Sunday's final against Germany.




Wednesday, July 9, 2014

GERMANY DEMOLISHES BRAZIL'S WORLD CUP DREAM



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WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL: BRAZIL 1 - GERMANY 7

Germany ended Brazil's World Cup dreams in a brutal fashion after a 7-1 humiliation. A stunning performance from Germany and a disgracefully amateur turn from Brazil led to a historic result in the World Cup semifinal at Belo Horizonte. Brazil's players mourned the absence of the injured Neymar before kick-off, but captain Thiago Silva was an even bigger loss. The result was their first competitive home defeat in 39 years, and the end of their hopes of making it to the World Cup final at the iconic Maracana on Sunday.

Thomas Muller gave the three-time winners an early lead before a period of utter chaos saw Miroslav Klose break the World Cup scoring record, Toni Kroos add two more in the space of 179 seconds and Sami Khedira net a fifth. Chelsea striker Andre Schurrle, on as a substitute, added two more after the break before Brazil's followers delivered what must be regarded as the defining insult to their national team.

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Thousands of Brazil supporters were reduced to tears just after less than 30 minutes, and reduced to such a state of shock that it was only at half-time that they registered their first serious dissent. The score equalled Brazil's heaviest margin of defeat, a 6-0 loss at the hands of Uruguay in the 1920 Copa America, but the impact of this reverse, not just on the world stage but in their homeland, will put this alongside the 1950 World Cup final defeat by the Uruguayans in Rio as their darkest football day.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side crumbled in the space of seven minutes is likely to be a matter of national debate in this country for years to come. This was Brazil's first defeat at home for 12 years. The loss for a country built on sporting pride, and at their own World Cup, will be bad enough to take. The scale of defeat will take the inquests to a new level. This was the first time a team had scored seven in a World Cup semi-final, and the biggest defeat in one of these games, beating West Germany's 6-1 victory over Austria in 1954.