Argentina

Argentina will meet Germany in World Cup final at the Maracana on Sunday after winning a penalty shootout with 4:2 to eliminate the Netherlands.

With the score locked at 0-0 after extra time, Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero was the hero, saving kicks from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to take his country into the final for the first time since 1990.

Simona Halep is going to play in the rounds of sixteen of the singles event of the $250,000-equipped BRD Bucharest Open (WTA) tournament on Thursday, while four other Romanian players, Raluca Olaru, Irina Begu, Elena Bogdan, Alexandra Cadantu are going to play in the doubles event of the same competition taking place at the BNR Arenas in the Romanian capital.

Five Palestinian children were among 25 people killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza early Thursday, medics said, with most of the bloodshed in the southern city of Khan Yunis.        

Argentina reached their first World Cup final in 24 years on July 9, beating the Netherlands 4-2 on penalties after the first scoreless semi in the tournament's history, with old foes Germany awaiting them in Sunday's showpiece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Joachim Gauck will attend the World Cup final in Brazil Sunday to back the German side, Berlin said.
      
"President Joachim Gauck will travel with Chancellor Angela Merkel to Rio de Janeiro from July 12 to 14" and watch the final match together, his office said Wednesday.
      

Referee Cüneyt Çakır has been assigned to officiate the World Cup semifinal match between the Netherlands and Argentina, reaching a new high in Turkish footballing history.

Çakır, who became only the second Turk to officiate a World Cup game following Doğan Babacan’s assignment in 1970, will work alongside fellow assistants Bahattin Duran and Tarık Ongun.

Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul was the hero as the Netherlands beat Costa Rica to seal a showdown with Argentina in a heavyweight World Cup semi-final lineup Saturday.
      

Argentina will once again turn to Lionel Messi for inspiration when the team tackles star-studded Belgium in Brasilia on July 5 in a World Cup quarterfinal haunted by ghosts of yesteryear.

By Jonathan Stearns

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said his country will avoid Argentina’s fate of staying mired in economic troubles more than a decade after defaulting on debt.

Argentina scored in the 118th minute to beat Switzerland and Belgium clung on to defeat the United States in another heart-stopping period of extra time to reach the World Cup quarter-finals amid more extraordinary drama on July 1.