A moment of brillance that most were hoping Messi would bring eventually came from German substitute Mario Goetze.It came in the second half of extra time and Germany – rightfully and finally – triumphed over an Argentinian team that until then had been holding out resolutely waiting for Messi to produce just one more moment of magic.

But it was not to be.Messi will have to wait till 2018 now to get another shot at joining Maradona on his pedestal.