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The president of Germany has decorated the nation's World Cup-winning squad with the country's highest honour for sports, after their tournament victory in Brazil this summer. President Joachim Gauck, joined by Chancellor Angela Merkel, presented the players with the Silver Laurel Leaf in a ceremony at the head of state's Bellevue Palace after describing their efforts in South America as a 'convincing performance that is recognised ungrudgingly by all its opponents.' Speaking a day after the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gauck noted that Germany's fourth World Cup is its first as a reunited nation -...

Ghana’s national football captain and former English Premier League player Asamoah Gyan has been forced to deny he murdered a local rapper in a ritual sacrifice.

England have dropped ten places to 20th in the latest FIFA world rankings, meaning they are now officially worse than Bosnia-Herzegovina according to the complex system. The Eastern European nation, who participated in their first World Cup in Brazil, also exited in the group stage but, unlike England, managed to win a game. They have now moved up two places to 19th, leapfrogging Wayne Rooney and co. Other nations to feature above the Three Lions now include surprise quarter-finalists Costa Rica plus Mexico, Greece and the USA – who all made the last 16 at the World Cup.

RIO DE JANEIRO – Mario Goetze volleyed in the winning goal in extra time to give Germany its fourth World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday. Goetze controlled the ball with his chest and then shot past Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the 113th minute.

Germany won the World Cup. Host Brazil won a world of new friends. The now four-time champions, the first European team to win the World Cup on Latin American soil, earned the honor of lifting the most recognized trophy in sports with a tooth-and-nail 1-0 victory in a final as terrifically entertaining as the tournament itself. For a 32-day showcase of football at its best, the winning goal was beautifully appropriate. Mario Goetze controlled the ball with his chest and then volleyed it into the Argentine goal, making difficult skills look so simple. Scored in the 113th minute, the mortal...

FIFA World Cup Championship: Germany V Argentina 3pm EDT ABC TV; Univison - Thread

As Germany seek their first World Cup win since 1990, when they beat Argentina in Rome, Low, 54, relished the prospect of re-writing the history books with winning on this continent. "We know we can write history," he said. "In the past we have never had this. Latin Americans, on this continent, have dominated all the time. So why not? This could be an additional joy for us if we were to win as Europeans on Latin American soil." And the prospect of facing Messi as he tries to emulate Diego Maradona, who inspired Argentina to their last World Cup...

The 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Production of the Final Match will pioneer a 360-degree viewing experience thanks to a panoramic, Ultra HD OmniCam developed by scientists at the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. Football fans will be able to re-live all the drama and emotion of the 13 July match between Germany and Argentina in this ground-breaking format for the first time at the new FIFA World Football Museum in Zürich, which is scheduled to open its doors to the public in early 2016. The innovation is the latest visual technology to be introduced by FIFA as part of...

From great group stages to penalty shootouts, Luis Suárez’s bite and Brazil’s Mineiraço, the story of the 2014 World Cup

Life is a challenge these days in Germany if you are not a football fan. You simply cannot avoid it. The media is awash with interest in Sunday's World Cup final, with the 'Nationalelf' (national 11) involved against old rivals Argentina. The stunning 7-1 semi-final win over hosts Brazil resulted in football euphoria only seen before in the country when West Germany won previous World Cup tournaments in 1954, 1974 and 1990. "Three days to go", "two days to go", "one day to go" - these have been the headlines from Germany's biggest selling tabloid Bild. It's the countdown to...

Record goals, Suarez gnaws, that James Rodriguez strike, passion, drama, colourful fashion - what a World Cup this has been. It was a tournament that started with a bang as the hosts came from behind to beat Croatia, and has since delivered fantastic entertainment almost game after game.

Chuck Norris is trending in Argentina after the country's World Cup semi-final victory against Holland. So what has the US actor and martial artist got to do with football? Famed for being the ultimate action man, Chuck Norris has inspired long lists of 'facts' about what a tough guy he is. The lists have been entertaining people for years. Now Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano is getting the Chuck Norris treatment on social media after he played strongly despite sustaining a head injury early in the game. The hashtag #maschefacts is being used with posts to describe all of the awesome...

Axelle Despiegelaere was just a face in the crowd, watching her Belgium football team prepare to take on Russia in a Group H World Cup game two weeks ago in Brazil. Then the 17-year-old had her photograph taken. The photo went viral, making the rounds on Twitter and ending up in newspapers all over the world.

It was the most shocking defeat in the history of the World Cup. Brazil's 7-1 semifinal annihilation in Belo Horizonte at the hands of a faultless German side brought the host nation's tournament to a shuddering, horrifying end. After billions of dollars spent on stadiums, after years of build-up and preparation, after so much accrued expectation for soccer's most famed national team, no one could have conceived that it would suffer its worst ever World Cup loss. But it did. The reaction in Brazil has been a mix of anger and despair. The front page of one of its leading...

I did not see any existing thread for the Argentina v. Netherlands match.

The fun-loving, fleet-footed team in orange has formally donned the black hat. One of its top players falls down more than a Hollywood stunt man with vertigo. Its coach acts as though he’s the smartest man in every room (and he very well might be). And the Netherlands has already ousted two plucky underdogs — fan favorites Mexico and Costa Rica — from the tournament. No, the Dutch team might not win many popularity contests at this World Cup, but the Oranje might finally have the squad capable of winning the sport’s biggest title. “We have to be a bit...

I normally can't stand a sport where kicking a ball around results in a zero score and people cheer about that lame-oh Kurr-Rapp. However, Brazil sucks and is being trounced right now 7-1. I think Germany felt sorry and just allowed a score as a sign of sportsmanship. Normally (Hah!) I'd never watch woccer/soccer but, I just had a giant plate of ribs and I like seeing these chumps get trounced. Stoopit ball. Stoopit net. Stoopit country. Stoopit game.... stoopitest

Germany routed Brazil 7-1 today to reach the World Cup final, handing them its worst loss ever and breaking the hearts of millions of Brazilians. Brazil played without its injured striker Neymar, who had suffered a fractured vertebra in his lower back last Friday during its quarterfinal clash against Colombia.

Brazil V Germany

Luiz Felipe Scolari is convinced Brazil can beat Germany and make it through to a dream World Cup final despite Neymar’s absence. Brazil will take on Germany at the Estadio Mineirao on Tuesday without their best player and leading scorer, who was ruled out of the World Cup after fracturing a verterbrae in last week’s win over Colombia. An incredible wave of sadness followed the news that Neymar had been ruled out. The players shed tears and many of the 200 million football-mad Brazilians feared how their team would cope without their talisman. But Scolari has moved on from the...