FIFA World Cup 2014: Revisiting Germany’s triumph

Germany lifted the trophy in a nail-biting final against Argentina

There are few World Cups that have been as thrilling and surprising as the 2014 World Cup. The World Cup was held in Brazil, and there was no better place to host such an extraordinary spectacle. The World Cup was filled with twists and turns and heartbreaks. Let's take a moment to rewind the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup.

Group Stage Shocks 

The 2014 World Cup group draw was very interesting and many of the big nations found themselves in hot water. Chile, Spain, and the Netherlands were drawn into the same group, increasing the excitement before the tournament began.

Host Brazil stood in Group A alongside Croatia, Cameroon, and Mexico. The hosts opened the competition with a big win over Croatia on matchday one. Brazil and Mexico advanced out of the group despite a scare from Croatia late in the game.

As part of Group B, the finalists of the 2010 World Cup, Netherlands, and Spain were paired with Chile and Australia. The Dutch team dominated the group and won all three games including a 5-1 thrashing to Spain to avenge their 2010 defeat. On the other hand, Spain went down after becoming the latest addition to the infamous World Cup curse.

Colombia dominated Group C with three wins comfortably, courtesy of James Rodriguez's exceptional performance. Greece also advanced from the group after defeating the Ivory Coast and Japan.

Big Teams Went home

Now, we come to the most anticipated group of World Cup 2014. Group D made the most headlines after the draw. England, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Italy made up the group, and the results were more shocking. Costa Rica won the group despite being tipped not to make it, followed by Uruguay.

Group E consisted of France, Switzerland, Ecuador, and Honduras. France won with quite a lot of ease. Switzerland managed to finish second because of Shaqiri's excellent display. 

In Group F, Argentina topped the group and showcased real intent at the start of the tournament. Nigeria joined Argentina for the Round of 16 while despite a spirited show, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina had to crash out.

Portugal and Germany headlined Group G. Germany kicked off the group with a bang after knocking Portugal four-nil on matchday one. Portugal never made it after a poor performance against Germany and was eliminated at the group stage. In contrast, the United States surprised everyone by progressing from the group.

In the final group H, Young Belgium went through after winning all their games, while Algeria joined them after beating South Korea in the penultimate game. 

Nervy Round of 16

Chile faced Brazil in the first match of the Round of 16. In the end, Brazil had to go through penalties to win after being drawn 1-1 at full-time. Neymar scored the crucial penalty in the shootout to make the final tie a nervy one.

The second game was between Columbia and Uruguay. Uruguay was considered the favourite because of the presence of big names such as Godin, Suarez, and Cavani, but Columbia was buoyed by a brace from James Rodriguez.

During the third match of the Round of 16, Mexico and Netherlands played a memorable 90 minutes. Mexico took the early lead and remained calm till 88 minutes but Dutch forwards turned the tables in the last minutes to win.  

Greece lost to Costa Rica in the fourth matchup of the Round of 16 after extra time ended with a score of one all. Theofanis Gekas missed the most important penalty, giving Costa Rica the victory in the shootout.

In the fifth match of Round 16, group E leaders France faced Nigeria. Despite France winning the tie two-nil, it was a balanced encounter until some late blitzes by Pogba. 

The sixth match of the Round of 16 was between Germany and Algeria. Germany was tipped to progress through this match, but Algeria required extra time to defeat them, the match ending 2-1.

In the next tie, Argentina faced Switzerland, who had been on fire in their last matches. Argentina came out on top, but the game went to extra time.

During the last match of the round of 16, Belgium faced underdogs United States, in a tie that went to extra time where De Bruyne and Lukaku scored goals to send Belgium through.

The drama moved to the next level in Quarters

A thrilling end to the Round of 16 culminated in the caravan moving to the quarterfinals, where the drama intensified.

The first quarterfinal saw Germany defeat France in an even contest. Matt Hummels' goal in the 13th minute proved to be enough to defeat the young French team.

After narrowly escaping in the Round Of 16, Brazil came out on top against Columbia in the second quarter-final. The hosts won the game 2-1, but the injury to Neymar was the big story.

Argentina defeated Belgium in the 3rd Quarterfinals 1-0 thanks to Higuain's strike in the 8th minute. Despite Belgium displaying great character, the attacker's poor performance in the final third proved pivotal.

The Netherlands trumped Costa Rica in the third shootout of the tournament. The Dutch side dominated the whole match but couldn't find any breakthrough. In the penalty shootout, Jasper Cillessen's late substitution proved to be a masterstroke.

Madness in the Semi-Finals

Brazil played the hot German side in the first semi-final of 2014. Neymar was absent from this game, and his absence proved to be too costly for Brazil. Germany stunned the hosts from the very beginning and scored seven goals past them, leaving them in a bind.

The second semi-final was the complete opposite of the first as Netherlands and Argentina reached penalties after a goalless draw. In the penalties, the Dutch side failed to replicate Quarter's luck as they lost to Argentina.

German Messi took Germans home

After an electrifying and thrilling four weeks, Argentina and Germany fought the final battle at the iconic Maracanã Stadium in Rio on 13th July 2014. Match went down to the wire in the extra time. 

Even though Argentina had many clear-cut chances to win, they failed to do so. Higuain was especially guilty of some shocking 1v1 situations that could have made his name legendary.

At the magical stadium in Rio, Mario Gotze scored on the near post in the 113th minute of extra time to bring Germany home in the 20th edition of the World Cup. Philip Lahm lifted the trophy in the 20th edition of the World Cup.

Messi won the Golden Ball for Argentina's run to the finals, while Rodriguez emerged as the top scorer of the tournament. Manuel Neuer claimed the Golden Glove.