Spain were eliminated in the group phase in the 2014 event. The defending champions from the 2010 World Cup were Spain, who had achieved three successive victories in major tournaments, having also won Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase. In the finals, the teams were divided into eight groups of four with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format. Brazil qualified for the finals automatically as tournament hosts, and 203 teams competed for the remaining 31 spots through qualifying rounds organised by the six FIFA confederations and held between June 2011 and November 2013. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th edition of the World Cup, FIFA's football competition for national teams, held in Brazil between 12 June and 13 July 2014. The Adidas Brazuca Final Rio used in the match Germany failed to defend their trophy at the subsequent 2018 World Cup in Russia, becoming the third successive World Cup holders to be eliminated in the group phase after defeats against Mexico and South Korea. His Argentine counterpart, Alejandro Sabella, thought his team had been unlucky to lose, and called his players "warriors". Germany's manager, Joachim Löw, labelled his side's win as the culmination of a project that had begun ten years previously under his predecessor Jürgen Klinsmann, and praised his team's spirit.
Götze was named the man of the match, and Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament.
Germany's win was their fourth World Cup title and the first since German reunification, as well as the first World Cup win by a European team in the Americas. Mario Götze, who had come on as a substitute shortly before the end of normal time, received Schürrle's cross from the left on his chest before volleying a left-footed shot into the net to secure a 1–0 victory for Germany. With the match goalless after 90 minutes, it went to extra time, in the second period of which Germany broke the deadlock. On 71 minutes, Thomas Müller was through on goal following a build-up involving André Schürrle and Mesut Özil, but he failed to control the ball and lost it to Argentina's goalkeeper, Sergio Romero. Lionel Messi had an opportunity to score when he was one-on-one with Neuer shortly after half time, but his low shot went wide of the goal. Gonzalo Higuaín missed a chance to score for Argentina in the first half when he was one-on-one with Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, and Benedikt Höwedes failed to give Germany the lead shortly before half-time when his shot struck the goalpost. The final took place in front of 74,738 supporters, as well as over a billion watching on television, and was refereed by Nicola Rizzoli from Italy. Argentina finished top of Group F with three wins, before defeating Switzerland in the round of 16, Belgium in the quarter-final and the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final. En route to the final, Germany finished first in Group G, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Algeria in the round of 16, France in the quarter-final and Brazil, by a score of 7–1, in the semi-final. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. The event comprised hosts Brazil and 31 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations. The match was played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 13 July 2014, and was contested by Germany and Argentina. The 2014 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match of the 2014 World Cup, the 20th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams.