0 World Cup Final Tweets of the Day - 14 July 2014

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is over. Germany are the victors, to the relief of millions of Brazilians. And Argentina claims another unwanted runner-up position.

Twitter traffic was high during and after this morning's match. Here's just a small selection of reaction:

The Germans can claim the title of World Champions until the 2018 tournament in Russia. The Russian organisers will have a hard job emulating Brazil, but then who would want Brazil's World Cup debt right now?

0 EDIT: Germany are the World Champions

Germany wins its fourth FIFA World Cup. A superbly taken goal in extra time from Mario Goetze has given the Germans a 1-nil win over Argentina at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janiero.

Reaction follows soon...

 ********************************************

Bragging rights in the world of football go on the line in just over an hour. The 2014 FIFA World Cup reaches its crescendo as Germany and Argentina do battle in Rio de Janiero. The Herald previews the match:

The 2014 World Cup has delivered beyond all expectations but now only one question remains.
Will we finally, after almost 30 years, see a classic final?
There hasn't been a truly memorable final game of a World Cup since probably 1986 at the Azteca Stadium, when Argentina trumped West Germany 3-2.
On that day the South Americans led 2-0 with less than 20 minutes to play, before Franz Beckenbauer side's drew level with a typical fightback. With the match heading towards extra time, Diego Maradona, who had been shut down for most of the game, produced a perfect slide rule pass to release Jorge Burrucharga. His precise finish gave Argentina their second World Cup title.
Since then most of the finals have been disappointments, or underwhelming at the least.
The final of Italia 1990 was possibly the worst. Argentina, racked by suspension and injuries, barely tried to play and West Germany weren't much more enterprising, with a late penalty proving the difference.
The 1994 decider was meant to be a cracker - Brazil taking on Italy, Romario against Roberto Baggio - but it was a huge anticlimax, with neither team managing to fashion a goal before Brazil won on penalties.
Four years later France enjoyed a deserved 3-0 win over Brazil but most of the drama came before the game, with the confusion over Ronaldo's fitness and physical state. The match itself didn't reach any great heights.
The 2002 decider was one sided, with an average German side benefiting from a string of upsets on their side of the draw to reach the final and they were duly outclassed by Brazil.
The final of the 2006 edition had drama - especially with Zinedine Zidane's sending off - but was otherwise a stale, dour affair, as often happens when Italy are involved. And last time in South Africa could have been a great match, but the Dutch coaches decided to disregard the talent they had at their disposal and sent their players out to foul, kick and spoil which completely ruined the spectacle.
This tournament deserves a riveting final game. It has had everything else; a stack of memorable matches, tons of drama and plenty of goals. There has been more games go to extra time than in any other tournament and some unforgettable upsets, with an underlying emphasis on attacking football. The fans have come to the party and the Brazilian people have been wonderful hosts.
Of course nothing is guaranteed . Finals are cagey affairs because there is so much at stake - the biggest prize in team sport on the planet. Tomorrow Germany wants to end a 24 year drought while Argentina is desperate to repeat the success of 1986 - which would be even sweeter on Brazilian soil.

As Michael Burgess notes, the high-stakes nature of tournament finals often negates the brilliance of the combatants. Given the standard of football that has been played in Brazil to date, it would be a pity if neither side had the opportunity to unleash its talent.

After their incredible semi-final victory over Brazil, it is hard to go past the Germans. They have had an extra day's rest, and whilst their win was completed in 90 minutes Argentina needed 120 minutes and a penalty shootout to shake off the Netherlands. 

Unfortunately, another commitment means we will miss the first hour of the match. We'll catch the business end of the game however, and will doubtless have some thoughts on it when the dust has settled and the trophy has been decided.

0 UPDATED: Argentina or the Netherlands? It's Argentina!

UPDATE: Extraordinary scene in Sao Paulo. Argentina is through to the World Cup final on penalties after two Dutch spot kicks were saved by goalkeeper Sergio Romero. Well played Argentina, but the depression in Brazil just deepened as the home team's bitter rivals did what Brazil could not achieve.

***************************************

And nil-all after 90 minutes of regular time. Arjen Robben had a late chance, but was denied by brave Argentinian defence, and to his credit he stayed on his feet. It's off to extra time, and if that doesn't break the deadlock, to penalties.

Nil-all at halftime, in a match which has had little of yesterday's action. We get the feeling that it's going to need a moment of magic from the likes of Messi or van Persie to break the deadlock between two star-studded teams, or we might be headed to the penalty spot.

 *******************************************

Lionel Messi's Argentina will face Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie's Netherlands in just an hour's time. At stake is a date with Germany in the FIFA World Cup final.

After putting the mockers on Brazil yesterday, we won't try to second-guess the outcome. But we doubt the match will be as one-sided as yesterday's crushing German victory.

So who's it going to be? And can today's winner match the supremely confident German side?

Bring it on!

0 World Cup Tweets of the Day - 9 July 2014

What an amazing morning of football it has been. Here's a small summary of the day's action from Twitter.

First-up, Piers Morgan's reputation as a predictor has been shot; as has ours, to be fair, but we're NOT Piers Morgan!

Unsurprisingly, German fans at the match were delighted, and they had plenty to celebrate:

The same cannot be said of home fans. This montage of photos reflects the widespread doom and gloom being felt by Brazilian fans.
 

Brazil has now booked a place in the match that no side ever wants to play in; the play-off for third and fourth. After having gone unbeaten in competitive matches at home between 1975 and this morning, who would bet against Brazil losing twice in a week? 

0 UPDATED: And then there were four. Make that three...

FINAL SCORE: BRAZIL 1 - GERMANY 7

What an unbelievable score-line in a World Cup semi-final. And there are already reports of Brazilian fans taking this result very hard, and rioting in the streets. And the Telegraph in the UK reports:

Brazil spent $11 billion on a national calamity. The world’s greatest football nation was left numb, humiliated and flummoxed as five German goals flew into their net in the first 29 minutes of a crushing 7-1 defeat.

Neymar was not the only one missing in action. It was true of Brazil’s whole defence, discipline and structure. A majestic display of German passing through the centre of this Belo Horizonte pitch will be obscured by the trauma endured by Brazil. But Joachim Löw’s men will not mind that. Their eyes are on the prize of becoming the first team from Europe to win a World Cup in Latin America.

The indignity of this night will haunt Brazilian football for generations.

The defeat by Uruguay in the 1950 final at the Maracana has always been the most persistent ghost in the home of football arte. Brazil, though, have won five World Cups since then, and have paraded before the world some of the game’s greatest players: Pele, Garrincha, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Zico and Ronaldo. The golden shirt was never meant for journeymen. In international terms, Fred and Hulk are solidly in that category.

“We lost one match to a great team,” Luiz Felipe Scolari, their coach, tried to argue, without success. “Five goals [in 29 minutes] – it was because of their skill, and we respect that.” It went much deeper, to a failure of Brazilian talent, tactics and temperament. 

Elsewhere we have seen this result described as "the night the music died". It is a result that will send shockwaves around the footballing world.

****************************

LIVE UPDATES: Germany scores early, from a corner to lead Brazil 1-nil.

And Germany adds a second, then a third; Brazil will be in a state of mass depression. Surely Brazil can't come back from three down...

... or four-nil. Germany has absolutely stunned the hosts with an incredible opening half hour, breaking Brazilian hearts.

And then there were five. If the German side was a racehorse, it would most certainly be swabbed!

******************************

The FIFA World Cup began around three weeks ago with 32 teams. As we type this, just four remain standing, and that number will reduce to three by mid-morning and two by mid-morning tomorrow.

It is entirely unsurprising that Germany, Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands are the four teams remaining for the semi-finals. They are football's heavyweights, two from Europe and two from South America.

The first semi-final this morning is between the Germans and the home side; the Herald previews the contest:

Brazil and Germany collide in a heavyweight clash of continental superpowers as the World Cup semi-finals get under way this morning.
The prize for the winner is a place in the final where they will meet either Argentina or the Netherlands, who face off in another South America-Europe semi-final duel on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
Brazil face Germany missing star striker Neymar and captain Thiago Silva after an appeal to FIFA to rescind his suspension fell on deaf ears on Monday.
Two hundred million Brazilians may not agree with him but German coach Joachim Loew suggests this twin misfortune may help rather than hinder the hosts.
"Setbacks often set free additional forces," Loew said.
"Nobody should believe that our task is made easier by the loss of Neymar, quite the opposite.
"And Thiago Silva's suspension shows the depth of the Selecao's squad.
"(Brazil coach Luiz) Felipe Scolari can now use a player like (Bayern Munich centre-back) Dante, so I can't see there being a loss of quality."
Scolari has urged Brazil to use Neymar's injury blow as motivation to reach the title.
"I think the additional motivation we must have in every match is going up another step and getting closer to our objective of the final," Scolari said.
"The way Neymar spoke to the players made them understand that he had done his share and now we need to do our share.
"Myself, the other players, all the Brazilian people. This match is very important, it could take us to the final.
"We are playing for our country, it is everything we imagined and dreamed of, and also for Neymar."

The loss of Neymar to injury is a blow to the Brazilians, but not a fatal one. They can still beat the Germans, but they would need to do it in regular time, we reckon. We believe that if the match goes to extra time or to a penalty shoot-out the composure of the Germans will trump the emotion of the home side.

FIFA's dream final would be Argentina vs Brazil, although to be fair a final between the Netherlands and Germany would also be a cracking match. We'll stick our neck out and pick Brazil to win by a single goal.

Get in quick with your tip for the match, which kicks off at 8am. We'll see who has bragging rights at the end of the day!

0 World Cup Tweet(s) of the Day - 3 July 2014

From 32 teams to the round of sixteen; now just eight teams remain at the FIFA World Cup. The USA was the most recent side to bow out, losing 2-1 to Belgium. 

Football fever reigned in the US for a few short hours:

However another wit has tweeted this morning that just 1437 days remain until the USA becomes a soccer-mad nation again; assuming of course they qualify for the 2018 version!

And goalkeeper Tim Howard produced an incredible performance yesterday as he bravely held the Belgians out until extra time. That has produced dozens of internet memes, of which this is but one example.

The USA fought bravely yesterday, but not even Barack Obama's support could save them. Roll on the quarter-finals on Saturday morning (NZ time), and especially the clash between European heavyweights France and Germany. And could Colombia provide possibly the biggest upset in World Cup history, and oust the hosts?

Bring it on!