|  Wys³any: 2019-07-31 05:34:39 Temat postu: Hummels proved to be the only difference between the
Germany and Argentina will renew their World Cup rivalry on Sunday when they meet in the final at the Maracana. The two fabled nations have a history of squaring off in World Cup finals as they met one another in the 1986 finale and again in 1990. Listen to the match LIVE at 3pm et/Noon pt on TSN Radio Toronto 1050, TSN 690 Montreal, TSN 1200 Ottawa, TSN 1260 Edmonton, TSN 1290 Winnipeg and TEAM 1410 Vancouver. In 1986, Argentina, led by Diego Maradona, edged West Germany for the title behind a late strike from Jorge Burruchaga. But the Germans avenged the defeat in controversial fashion four years later as Rudi Voller earned a dubious penalty that Andreas Brehme converted with just five minutes left to play, giving the European nation a narrow victory. It was Germanys third World Cup title and it would be another 12 years before Die Mannschaft would log another appearance in the final, a contest the European nation lost as Brazil triumphed behind a brace from Ronaldo. Germany, which made history by becoming the first nation to make four successive appearances in the semifinals, returns to the title match after back-to-back third-place finishes and is looking to make the leap from bridesmaid to bride. It was an eventful journey to the final for Germany, which emerged from the Group of Death and stacked half of the bracket to survive a brutal draw. The Germans opened the tournament in style by cruising to a 4-0 defeat of Portugal. They looked vulnerable in a 2-2 draw with Ghana but managed to secure top spot in Group G behind their 1-0 defeat of the United States. The knockout round began in somewhat unconvincing fashion as Algeria pushed Germany to the brink of elimination. A scoreless 90 minutes forced extra time, but Germany scored twice early on to advance with a narrow 2-1 victory. The win resulted in a meeting with high-flying France, and a header from Mats Hummels proved to be the only difference between the two nations. Germany moved on to the semifinals where it met Brazil for a rematch of the 2002 final, and it was one-way traffic as the Germans thumped the host nation in a 7-1 victory. Miroslav Klose scored a goal in the emphatic win to make him the tournaments all-time leading scorer. But the 36-year-old, who has been on the losing end in a World Cup final, insisted that Germany must move on from its thrashing of Brazil. "We enjoyed the game against Brazil, but we ticked it off after 24 hours," Klose said. "In the next game, we have to again play to the best of our abilities. It feels really awful to lose a final, so its our time to win this one." Thomas Muller has been pegged as the heir apparent to Klose given his penchant for scoring goals in the World Cup. The Bayern Munich man won the Golden Boot in 2010 and is one goal shy of James Rodriguez atop the scoring chart, but he is expecting a tough and cagey affair against Argentina. "I dont know what kind of a game it will be (on Sunday), but I dont expect it to be 5-0 at halftime," the Bayern Munich forward said at a press conference. "That would be nice, but its probably going to be tight like it was against Algeria or France." Argentinas stout defensive showing thus far indicates that Muller is correct. La Albiceleste has conceded just three goals in the tournament, all of which came in the group stage. The South American nation opened the tournament with a 2-1 defeat of Bosnia- Herzegovina thanks to a game-winning strike from Lionel Messi. The Barcelona man came to Argentinas rescue twice more by scoring at the death in a narrow 1-0 victory over Iran and bagging a brace in a 3-2 victory over Nigeria. Despite failing to produce a goal in the knockout round, Messi proved he can still influence the final result without finding the net himself. He set up Angel Di Maria for a late winner against Switzerland in the round of 16 with a brilliant through ball, demonstrating his ability to thread the needle in crucial moments. The goal sent Argentina through to the quarterfinals where an early strike from Gonzalo Higuain was all the nation would need to dispatch Belgium, setting up a semifinal clash with the Netherlands. It was a tactical battle between the two nations as penalties were needed to decide a winner, and Sergio Romero proved to be the hero, stopping two attempts to see Argentina reach its fifth World Cup final. The finale has been billed as the worlds best player (Messi) facing the worlds greatest international team (Germany). But according to striker Sergio Aguero, Argentina is happy to play the role of the underdog. "Germany were always the favorites, along with Brazil, to win the World Cup," the Manchester City man said on Thursday. "They continue to be so now. We need to play our own game and it suits us that all the pressure is on them." Custom Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . During the furious first few hours of free agency Tuesday, the team agreed to terms with strong safety Donte Whitner, a Cleveland native who cant wait to play in his hometown. Steve Bartkowski Youth Jersey . - Rookie Tesho Akindele scored three goals and Fabian Castillo added two in FC Dallas 5-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. http://www.thefaclonsshoponline.com/Takkarist-McKinley-Falcons-Jersey/ . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. Kaleb McGary Jersey . -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena to a $25 million, five-year contract Saturday. Qadree Ollison Youth Jersey . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Marc-Andre Fleury isnt going anywhere. The Pittsburgh Penguins signed the franchises all-time winningest goaltender to a four-year contract extension on Wednesday worth $23 million. The new deal, which begins next year, runs through the 2018-19 season. Just nice to get it over with, not think about it anymore and just go play some hockey and try to win some games, Fleury said. Just focus on hockey and not anything else. The 29-year-old Fleury was in the final season of a seven-year contract he signed in 2008. Fleury is off to a hot start for the Metropolitan Division-leading Penguins. He is 7-2 with a 1.89 goals against and is tied for the NHL lead with three shutouts heading into Thursday nights game in Winnipeg. General manager Jim Rutherford approached Fleury a month ago to begin the process, but stressed recently he believed in Fleury despite some struggles in recent years during the playoffs. Rutherford wanted to eliminate the potential distraction while he could. When a player is in the last year of his contract, especially an important player like Marc, you wonder if when you get closer to the end of the season if its in the back of his mind, Rutherford said. So were glad we got it cleared up. The former No. 1 overall pick is 295-171-46 in 11 seasons. Fleurys 111 victories over the past four seasons are tops in the NHL. He has struggled at times in the post-season since helping the Penguuins win the 2009 Stanley Cup.dddddddddddd Fleurys save percentage in the post-season dipped below .900 from 2010-13 and he briefly lost his job to Tomas Vokoun in the 2013 playoffs. He bounced back last spring, going 7-6 with a 2.40 goals against in 13 games as the Penguins fell to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The team declined to negotiate with Fleury over the summer following a massive front-office overhaul that saw Rutherford replace Ray Shero and Mike Johnston take over as head coach for Dan Bylsma. Rutherford, a former goaltender, backed Fleury recently even as Fleury downplayed his uncertain future. Hes sparkled as the Penguins have adjusted to Johnstons style of play. He posted consecutive shutouts for the first time in wins over Los Angeles and Buffalo last week to push his career total to 31. It seems like I just started and now Im like an old guy on the team, Fleury said. Its different but its good. You learn stuff about life in general and hockey-wise. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who has played with Fleury his entire career, stressed support for Fleury never wavered. Its nice, it seems fitting and happy hes got it done and can kind of move forward, Crosby said. His attitude and the way he approaches every year, hes got a ton of passion, he cares a lot and understands theres a lot of responsibility on the goalie and hes dealt with it as good as anybody. ' ' ' |
Hummels proved to be the only difference between the 
