Let’s be honest. Is there a footballer anywhere in the world happy to hit the post instead of the back of the net? A pretty straightforward answer of no, you’d imagine – but then there’s Benedikt Howedes. Just before half-time, Howedes hit the woodwork with a close-range header off a corner.
“Looking back, I’m happy I didn’t score,” said the long-time servant of Schalke. “I don’t understand that, you’re going to have to explain,” said a perplexed Low the first time he heard the story. Howedes explained: “It just wouldn’t have been good for me to be the hero of that World Cup. I don’t know how I would have handled that.”
The two teams would have the pleasure of facing off again not two months later in a friendly match in Dusseldorf. Playing for the first time following their World Cup triumph, Germany were without several of the starting XI from that final on what proved to be a sobering evening.
Argentina had absolutely no interest in watching the newly-crowned champions do a lap of honour and emerged 4–2 winners. The main gatecrasher was Angel Di Maria, who set up the first three of Argentina’s goals before scoring himself to make it four.
Heading into the World Cup, a lot of the nation’s hopes rested on the shoulders of one Marco Reus. The lightning-fast attacker had enjoyed a standout season for Borussia Dortmund, scoring 16 goals and providing 14 assists in 30 Bundesliga games, plus five goals and four assists in the UEFA Champions League. Reus had booked his seat on the plane to Brazil and was inked in on the left wing.
Then, in the final international game before the World Cup, he suffered a serious injury that ruled him out of contention. It was a bitter end to Reus’s dreams, but a chance for Shkodran Mustafi to step up to the plate. It was the defender who conspired with Gotze to rustle up a shirt bearing Reus’ name for the winners’ photo. This sort of team camaraderie is still mentioned as one of the main reasons behind Germany’s success.
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