2014 World Cup Final - Germany vs Argentina
Germany 1 vs Argentina 0 in extra time. Much to the detriment of
the game, Los Gauchos seem to be picking up where Maradona left off
in the 90 Cup in playing for a PSO. They did.
Question, if France can hold Germany to one goal and Algeria can score once and force 120' minutes, can Argentina do the same? Perhaps. They did.
Will Argentina play to win in regulation, or once again, opt for Russian roulette in a penalty shootout? The latter probably. They did.
At 20' Kroos suffers a momentary lapse of reason, in turning back towards his own goal and heading a short ball intended for Neuer...
Higuaín is lurking behind and snags it, breaking wide open at the edge of the box, only to shank it wide left. It should have been 1-0 Los Gauchos.
At 30' Lavezzi is wide open on the right, he hooks one into the center, where Higuain pokes it back across a wrong footed Neuer and into the bottom right of the net. 1-0 Argentina, not so fast, Joe. The flag is up, as Higuain was 2 yds offside.
At 31' In warm ups, Khedira suffered a calf injury, his sub Kramer (not to be confused with Cosmo Kramer) was struck hard...
Seriously, Kramer was dazed and confused with a concussion, Schurrle replaced him.
At 40' The entire German backline appear to be suffering from the same concussion. A wide open Messi scoots down the right arriving at the 6 yd box...
unimpeded he traverses the distance of the goal mouth to his left, where he shanks a feeble effort which somehow finds the goal line, luckily Boateng is waiting to hack it away.
At 45+2' Kroos sends a ball to the near post, Höwedes charges through a congested penalty area and from 6 yds out slams a header off the right hand post. The score should now be 1-1.
At 47' Higuaín’s pass dissects the German backline and Messi has the ball at his feet with nobody but Neuer between him and the goal, he shanks it low and wide right, missing by "this much".
Extra time - At 91' Argentina are tiring as Schurrle saunters down the left, from 9yds he launches a tight angled shot towards the top right which Romero punches away in self defense.
Rojo sends a banana ball into the German area from the left which finds Palacio alone on the penalty spot.
As Neuer closes from his line, Palacio cannot control the ball, and wedges it with his shin over the goalie and wide left.
1-0 At 113' Sub Schurrles trucks down the left and lifts a banana pass into the centre, which sub Götze chests down to launch a beautiful left foot volley into the right side of the net. Saved from the dreaded PSO.
Despite missed opportunities, the Germans dominated this game and in the end, Argentina's anemic attack and strategy of playing for the PSO came back to haunt them.
In DFB's favor, dangerous attacks 64-30; deliveries in penalty area 12-5; completed passes 736-416; ball possession 60%-40%; crosses 27-14; corners 5-3; saves 0-4, and most importantly....
Aside the disallowed goal, Los Gauchos had 4 golden chances vs die Mannschaft's 3. Higuain, Messi (2) and Palacio managed to shank each one of them, resulting in a deficit in on target attempts 7-2 and goals 1-0.
The German champions deservedly hoist the cup for the 4th time, 54, 74, 90 & 14.
Question, if France can hold Germany to one goal and Algeria can score once and force 120' minutes, can Argentina do the same? Perhaps. They did.
Will Argentina play to win in regulation, or once again, opt for Russian roulette in a penalty shootout? The latter probably. They did.
At 20' Kroos suffers a momentary lapse of reason, in turning back towards his own goal and heading a short ball intended for Neuer...
Higuaín is lurking behind and snags it, breaking wide open at the edge of the box, only to shank it wide left. It should have been 1-0 Los Gauchos.
At 30' Lavezzi is wide open on the right, he hooks one into the center, where Higuain pokes it back across a wrong footed Neuer and into the bottom right of the net. 1-0 Argentina, not so fast, Joe. The flag is up, as Higuain was 2 yds offside.
At 31' In warm ups, Khedira suffered a calf injury, his sub Kramer (not to be confused with Cosmo Kramer) was struck hard...
Seriously, Kramer was dazed and confused with a concussion, Schurrle replaced him.
At 40' The entire German backline appear to be suffering from the same concussion. A wide open Messi scoots down the right arriving at the 6 yd box...
unimpeded he traverses the distance of the goal mouth to his left, where he shanks a feeble effort which somehow finds the goal line, luckily Boateng is waiting to hack it away.
At 45+2' Kroos sends a ball to the near post, Höwedes charges through a congested penalty area and from 6 yds out slams a header off the right hand post. The score should now be 1-1.
At 47' Higuaín’s pass dissects the German backline and Messi has the ball at his feet with nobody but Neuer between him and the goal, he shanks it low and wide right, missing by "this much".
Extra time - At 91' Argentina are tiring as Schurrle saunters down the left, from 9yds he launches a tight angled shot towards the top right which Romero punches away in self defense.
Rojo sends a banana ball into the German area from the left which finds Palacio alone on the penalty spot.
As Neuer closes from his line, Palacio cannot control the ball, and wedges it with his shin over the goalie and wide left.
1-0 At 113' Sub Schurrles trucks down the left and lifts a banana pass into the centre, which sub Götze chests down to launch a beautiful left foot volley into the right side of the net. Saved from the dreaded PSO.
Despite missed opportunities, the Germans dominated this game and in the end, Argentina's anemic attack and strategy of playing for the PSO came back to haunt them.
In DFB's favor, dangerous attacks 64-30; deliveries in penalty area 12-5; completed passes 736-416; ball possession 60%-40%; crosses 27-14; corners 5-3; saves 0-4, and most importantly....
Aside the disallowed goal, Los Gauchos had 4 golden chances vs die Mannschaft's 3. Higuain, Messi (2) and Palacio managed to shank each one of them, resulting in a deficit in on target attempts 7-2 and goals 1-0.
The German champions deservedly hoist the cup for the 4th time, 54, 74, 90 & 14.
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