World Cup: Germany Win Trophy For Fourth Time

Germany have won an engrossing World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra-time - and hosts Brazil have sacked coach Luiz Felipe Scolari after a humiliating end to their tournament.

Mario Gotze was the hero for Germany, controlling the ball on his chest and volleying it past Argentinian goalkeeper Sergio Romero in the 113th minute.

Argentina squandered numerous chances to win the match before the Bayern Munich forward struck, although Germany's Manuel Neuer was relatively untested throughout the 120 minutes.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations in towns and cities across Germany, while in Argentina there were ugly scenes as rioters clashed with police in Buenos Aires.

Speaking after the match Neuer, who was named the best goalkeeper of Brazil 2014, said: "We're going to celebrate for at least five weeks now.

"At some point we'll stop celebrating but we'll always keep waking up with a smile."

Much of the pre-match hype focused on Lionel Messi, and Argentina's star man had his moments during the game.

Messi's best chance came just after half-time when he flashed a shot across goal, but there was to be no fairytale ending for one of the world's best players in the biggest game in football.

When the final whistle went, Germany's players collapsed in a pile in the middle of the pitch, while Messi walked with his hands on his hips toward the centre circle.

He was named the player of the tournament, but the award will be scant consolation.

Coach Alejandro Sabella, said: "I feel sadness not to have been able to win the tournament but pride in the team that played a great game.

"I congratulate the players. They are a pride to the nation for the efforts they made and the tournament they played."

In Buenos Aires, chaos erupted after the match at the iconic Obelisk monument as hundreds of youths who had gathered to watch the game threw rocks at police and tried to vandalise shops.

Riot officers fired tear gas and deployed a water cannon to disperse protesters, who had set up burning barricades in the city centre.

Germany was waking up to its fourth World Cup triumph on Monday morning, with fans tweeting with the hashtag #DeutschlandistWeltmeister - Germany is world champion.

Many retweeted pictures of German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrating the winning goal and posing for pictures with the German players and the Jules Rimet trophy after the game.

The 59-year-old, already a popular leader, was seen leaping out of her seat next to Brazil President Dilma Rousseff as her country took the lead.

The triumph in the Maracana is Germany's first as a unified country; West Germany won the World Cup in 1954, 1974 and 1990.

It is also the first time a European team has won a World Cup held in South America.

Scolari's exit from the Brazil job for the second time came after his side were beaten 3-0 in the third place play-off by the Netherlands.

They had failed to reach the final after being humiliated by Germany 7-1 in the semi-final.