Players of the Week - Germany

Germany win the World Cup!

On Sunday the 13th of July, 2014, Germany won the World Cup for the fourth time, beating Argentina 1-0 in the Final after extra-time. The match was played at the 78,838 capacity Maracana Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but there were another 100,000 Argentinian fans who had travelled from Argentina just to be in Rio. The match was very tense and there were few chances to score. The first chance came to Higuain for Argentina, who shot wide after a defensive error by Germany, and in stoppage time at the end of the first half, Germany had the best chance of the match when Höwedes hit the post. In the second half, there was a great chance for Messi, but he shot just wide. The match remained goalless after 90 minutes so the game moved into extra-time. There was another chance for Argentina, but this time Palacio couldn't get the ball past Neuer, the German goalkeeper. 

How did the match finish?

With only 7 minutes left of extra-time it looked like the match was going to be decided by a penalty shoot-out, but then Germany scored! Chelsea's André Schürrle made a great run down the left and sent over a fantastic cross to Mario Götze, who controlled the ball beautifully on his chest before putting a left-foot volley into the corner of the net. Germany were ahead, and there were only 7 minutes left to play. Argentina tried to get back in the game, but there wasn't enough time. It was the first time Argentina were behind in the whole tournament. The referee blew the final whistle. The Argentinian players were heartbroken and the German players ecstatic because they had won the World Cup for the first time in 24 years.

"All that was in my mind was to cross the ball and it was a fantastic finish. I am now a World Champion - I still can't believe it." Andre Schürrle

Who will we see in the Premier League?

Four of Germany's World Cup winning squad play in the Premier League and all of them play in London. There is the Arsenal trio of Mesut Özil, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski and also the Chelsea player André Schürrle. All four are now World Champions and join other World Champions to have played in the Premier League, such as:   

What do we know about the Premier League's newest World Champions?

Mesut Özil is an attacking midfielder who can play on the wing or in the number 10 position. He helped Germany get to Brazil 2014, and was Germany's top scorer in the qualification matches, with 9 goals. Özil played in every match for Germany at the World Cup and scored 1 goal and made 1 assist. He signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2013, after playing for Real Madrid, Werder Bremen and Schalke.

Per Mertesacker is a central defender and played in every game at Brazil 2014, apart from the quarter-final victory over France. In the Final, he came on as a substitute for his Arsenal teammate, Mesut Özil. Mertesacker signed for Arsenal in the summer of 2011, and has played nearly 100 matches for 'The Gunners'. His previous clubs include Werder Bremen and Hannover, in Germany.

Lukas Podolski is a forward who can operate as a main striker or on the wing. He made 2 appearances at the World Cup, against USA and Portugal. Podolski joined Arsenal in the summer of 2012, and has scored 20 goals for 'The Gunners'. He used to play for Bayern Munich and Koln.

 André Schürrle is a forward who, like Podolski, can play as a striker or on the wing. He made 6 appearances at the World Cup, and scored 3 goals and made 1 assist. The assist. of course, was for the goal that won Germany the World Cup. Schürrle signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2013 and during his first season at Chelsea he scored a hat-trick against Fulham and a goal in the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. His previous clubs were Bayer Leverkusen and FSV Mainz 05.

"Massive congrats you AFC Germans!" Arsenal's Theo Walcott

"Congratulations my man - Andre Schurrle! See you soon!" Chelsea's Eden Hazard

"Congratulations to Germany and especially Andre Schurrle!" Chelsea's Peter Cech

"Congratulations to Germany! The best team in the tournament won. Well done Mesut Ozil, enjoy it!" Ex-Liverpool player, Xabi Alonso

"Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Sergio Aguero, football is hard sometimes. You made everyone proud and had a great tournament. Heads up." Man City captain, Vincent Kompany