Scoreless and three minutes into the second extra-time period, Argentina and Germany looked destined for a penalty shootout to decide the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Mario Gotze had other ideas. The 22-year-old back-up midfielder received a pass inside the box, bumped it off his chest once, and nailed a sweeping left-kick goal to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Argentina for the World Cup win Sunday in Brazil.

Argentina star Lionel Messi had a chance to knot the score when he was fouled at the 120th minute, but his kick from 25 yards out in stoppage time sailed over the net, essentially sealing Germany’s fourth overall World Cup championship.

The thrilling end came after a deadlocked 90 minutes of defensive marking that led to a scoreless match. But Germany avoided a pentaly shootout for the World Cup via a little heroics from Gotze. Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was named the Golden Glove winner for the tournament's best keeper, while Messi took home the Golden Ball award for being named the best overall player in the tournament.

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(Photo: REUTERS/Sergio Moraes)