Mario Gotze emerges from the bench to fire Germany to World Cup glory with a late extra-time winner over Argentina. The South Americans fluff a trio of gilt-edged chances and fail to register a single shot on target over 120 minutes as their tournament ends in disappointment:
Subs Win it for Germany
Mario Gotze proved a handy differential for Fantasy managers as the World Cup came to its conclusion. After starting three of Germany’s first four matches, the Bayern man was shifted to the bench in each of the previous two games as Joachim Low’s decision to field Miroslav Klose through the middle forced Thomas Muller into a role out wide.
While Muller served up a second blank in seven appearances, Gotze climbed off the bench on 88 minutes to help secure the silverware for the favourites. Having previously played a part in only one of Germany’s first 17 strikes of the tournament, Gotze produced when it mattered most, volleying home an Andre Schurrle cross with just seven minutes remaining of extra-time
In terms of personnel, Joachim Low made just one change for last night’s match, with Christoph Kramer replacing the injured Sami Khedira in central midfield. Kramer lasted just only half an hour before being forced off with concussion, allowing Schurrle the chance for further game time off the bench. The Chelsea man continued his excellent campaign by serving up the cross for Gotze’s winner and, despite failing to start a single match, still managed to produce three goals and an assist for his Fantasy owners over the tournament.
Goals Dry Up for Argentina
Alejandro Sabella’s side only have themselves to blame after missing the three best chances of the match last night. Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi and Rodrigio Palacio all spurned great opportunities as Argentina’s toils in front of goal continued – despite a wealth of talent up top, they scored more than a single goal in only one of their last six World Cup matches. A consistent source of clean sheet returns for Fantasy managers, Gotze’s goal denied Sabella’s troops a fifth shut-out of the tournament, after they had kept out Iran, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland in four of their previous five fixtures.
Argentina’s dire attacking performance afforded the victors a fourth clean sheet of the campaign. Having kept out Portugal, USA and France prior to last night, Germany were buoyed by Mats Hummels’ recovery from a knee problem and with the Dortmund man at the heart of defence once again, Low’s side justified the show of faith that saw many Fantasy managers benefit from investing in their main assets at both ends of the pitch.
In the FIFA McDonald’s game, Jerome Boateng led the way for recovered balls amongst the Germans with 12, followed by Mats Hummels (nine), Bastian Schweinsteiger (eight) and Toni Kroos (five). Martin Demichelis was top for Argentina with 12, with Marcos Rojo (nine), Ezequiel Garay (eight), Pablo Zabaleta and Javier Mascherano (both seven) also impressing.
