It sure looked like the match was heading to penalty kicks, but a brilliant late goal by Mario Götze sealed the 1-0 win over Argentina to give Germany its fourth World Cup championship, matching the Italians with four wins.

It was an interesting and entertaining tournament, though a complete disaster for Brazil. Watching Argentina lose in the final may have lessened the sting a tad, but overall this will be a painful memory for Brazilian fans.

Meanwhile, European teams have now won three World Cups in a row, with Russia on the horizon.

Mario Balotelli’s first truly brilliant evening of Euro 2012 football could not have come at a better time. Italy manhandled Germany behind Super Mario’s dominant performance.