The 2014 FIFA World Cup, a thrilling competition of athleticism, strategy, and patriotism, was hosted by Brazil. Spanning over twelve venues with each located in a different city, the opening match was held in São Paulo June 12 with the home team of Brazil facing off against the Croatian national team. As the game kicked off, the World Cup had officially begun.
All 32 teams fought valiantly to keep their positions in the World Cup table but in the end there could only be one victor. In a surprising turn of events, the defending 2010 South Africa World Cup champions, Spain, were unable to make it past the group stage after a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands national team and a 2-0 loss to the Chilean national team. The U.S. national team was able to progress past the group stage and into Round of 16 of the World Cup where they faced off against Belgium. Belgium emerged victorious 2-1 against the U.S. Tim Howard, goalie for the U.S. National Team, was awarded man of the match after breaking the record for most saves in a World Cup Match with his 16 saves.
Of the 32 teams, by July 5 only four teams (Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and the Netherlands) remained, making way for the World Cup Semi-finals. In the first match of the Semi-finals, Brazil, missing their star striker Neymar due to an injury in a previous game as well as captain Thiago Silva due to a red card, suffered a loss to Germany who had determined the outcome of the game by the end of the first half with 5 goals. By the end of the game, the score was a 7-1 German win thus placing Germany in the Final round. On the other hand, Netherlands and Argentina remained tied 0-0 and proceeded onto penalty kicks, through which Argentina emerged triumphant at 4-2 also proceeding to the final round.
The fight for third place took place on July 12 with Brazil against the Netherlands. The result was a 3-0 win for Netherlands placing them at third place and sending Brazil out of the World Cup.
The last game of the 2014 Brazil World Cup with Germany pitted against Argentina was held at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, July 13. The game started with much tension in the air as both sides held onto their breath, hoping for a goal… the goal to win the game and the World Cup. Both teams, seeming to be evenly matched played with great effort, ending the first half with a score of 0-0. In the second half both teams brought a whole new level of energy to the field, playing vigorously and hoping to secure a game winning goal. However, like the first half, the second half also ended in a draw. Playing into overtime and both teams desperate for a goal, German forward Schürrle ran the ball up the left side of the field and found his teammate Götze, crossed the ball into him, and with a bump from his chest, Götze was able to get his foot on the ball and secure the Germans a goal at the 113th minute of the game. The Germans fought viciously to defend their one goal and when the full time whistle was called, the Germans emerged as the champions of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, concluding the epic series of the events that took place in Brazil.