European stalwarts won title for the fourth time when substitute Mario Goetze volleyed in a brilliant goal seven minutes from the end of extra time.
Didier Drogba came off the bench to inspire Cote d'Ivoire to a 2-1 comeback victory over Japan in a World Cup Group C match on Saturday.
Bosnia-Herzegovina will make its World Cup debut against a two-time world champion led by one of the greatest players in the game at the legendary Maracana stadium.
Mario Balotelli scored with a second-half header Saturday to give Italy a 2-1 win over England at the World Cup.
Two goals in four dramatic second-half minutes set lowly Costa Rica on their way to a deserved 3-1 victory over Uruguay on Saturday in the biggest upset of the World Cup so far.
Colombia celebrated their first World Cup appearance since 1998 with a deserved 3-0 win over Greece in a free-flowing display that showed their abundance of attacking talent even without top striker Radamel Falcao.
Soccer stars are known to display tough, "macho-man" exteriors, fighting all the way to achieve victory on the field of play. But we sometimes forget there is another side to them, away from the sporting action, when their children are at the heart of everything. Let's take a look at their gentler side and moments shared with their children.
Chile started well in its campaign in the FIFA World Cup by defeating Australia 3-1 in their group B match here on Friday.
Chen Juan, 29, left and Tan Juan, 25, from Chongqing municipality, quit their jobs in April to open a bar. The high school classmates are soccer fans, who wanted to get get a break from the 9-to-5 routine and watch World Cup matches overnight as the games overlap their business hours. They put some World Cup elements into decorating the bar and prepared a projector and screen to attract soccer-loving guests.
Packages providing coverage in the event of severe drunkenness or sickness are being touted to soccer fans during the World Cup.
Stunning goals from Dutch captain Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben ensured an awful start to Spain's World Cup defence as the Netherlands destroyed one of the tournament favourites 5-1 in Group B on Friday.
Mexico got just rewards for their attacking intent when Oribe Peralta's 61st minute strike gave them a 1-0 win over Cameroon in their World Cup opener at a rain-saturated Dunas arena on Friday.
Visitors take pictures of giant soccer players outside a shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong on Thursday, the day the World Cup kicked off. Eight giant figures are on display during the tournament, each being three to four meters tall.
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