For plenty, the World Cup coming to an end is unwelcome after more than a month of explosive football on the biggest of stages.

NEIL ASHTON AT THE MARACANA: Germany have been regarded as the best prepared team at the tournament for some time: Best players, best training ground, best coach, best everything.

IAN LADYMAN AT THE MARACANA: Lionel Messi played well enough for 90 minutes, but when the defining chance came early in the second half he couldn’t take it.

There were echoes of Harald Schumacher's infamous pole-axing of Patrick Battiston as Manuel Neuer clattered in to Gonzalo Higuain in Sunday night's World Cup final.

GRAHAM POLL: Nicola Rizzoli will be able to look back on this final with pride as he performed well as did both of his assistants in a tough match.

It has been a month of high drama, stunning goals and a fair share of controversy. And with the World Cup over, Sportsmail asked its experts how they will best remember Brazil 2014.

BRIAN BARWICK: And so to Match 64, or the World Cup Final as you and I call it. And the two teams are rested, recuperated, and ready for ‘the big one’.

David Beckham and his three boys were at the Maracana to take in the World Cup final on Sunday night - and there was no doubting which side they were supporting. Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz were all kitted out in Argentina shirts as they took on Germany for the greatest prize in world football.

As the Germany players celebrated their World Cup victory, their WAGs could not resist joining the on-field party at the Maracana.

MARK WEBSTER: Mike Ingham, a familiar voice on BBC Radio 5 Live for three decades, delivered his last commentary as Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup on Sunday night. As ever, he found the right words for the occasion.

Despite playing just five games at the World Cup, Colombia's star James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot with six goals.

They are the bits of tournament television coverage we love to watch but which we also dread, and in the battle of the World Cup 2014 montages BBC just shaded it over ITV.

It was a World Cup full of stunning goals, epic entertainment, brilliant performances and many shocks. Sportsmail's Chris Wheeler reflects on Brazil 2014 and lists 10 reasons why it was the best ever.

SAM CUNNINGHAM: Blood oozed from the cut beneath his right eye. The wound was so deep that the bright red claret streamed down his protruding right cheek.

Mario Gotze may look like he is not long out of babygrow lederhosen but his status as Germany’s wunderkind has been established for some considerable time.

And then there was one, Germany the winners of Brazil 2014 following their victory over Argentina in the final at the Maracana. But what about the other numbers to emerge from the finals?

MARTIN KEOWN: The World Cup final can be the best occasion of a footballer's life, or the worst if they crumble under the pressure.

Jose Mourinho says Lionel Messi should not be considered the scapegoat after Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Germany.

Fred has retired from international football at the age of 30 after Brazil's disappointing World Cup campaign came to an end. He scored 18 goals in 39 games.

It was party time for Germany after clinching their fourth World Cup with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in the final on Sunday.

Ray Whelan, the English director of FIFA's official ticket and hospitality partners MATCH, is in police custody after handing himself in to a judge in Rio de Janeiro several days after being declared 'a fugitive' by police investigating a ticket touting ring.

There will have been plenty of Arsenal fans cheering on Germany on Sunday evening, attempting to share in the triumph of a World Cup win that seems to edge further away from England's dreams.

Germany's World Cup-winning stars were letting their heroics at the Maracana sink in on Monday as they relaxed at their Rio de Janeiro hotel with their ultimate prize.

Diego Maradona took a swipe at Lionel Messi the day after his World Cup heartache by insisting the heir to his throne didn't deserve to win the Golden Ball award.

Lionel Messi's crowning as the World Cup's outstanding player shocked some prominent figures, but without his individual brilliance Argentina's goals dried up.

BRIAN BARWICK: This has been a hugely enjoyable World Cup for viewers and one that England’s early exit failed to diminish.

Philipp Lahm was Germany's intrepid leader on the pitch but Lukas Podolski was leading them home to their inevitable rapturous reception in Berlin.

Luiz Felipe Scolari quit as manager of Brazil after the host nation tasted their first back-to-back defeats on home soil since 1940 during a humiliating World Cup.

There's nothing better than your country winning the World Cup, but Barbadian singer Rihanna seemed more than happy after Germany beat Argentina.

SPONSORED: Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez have lit up the summer with their silky skills and fabulous flair... but back home these football freestylers have impressed on a special pitch in east London.

Gary Neville had barely digested his first breakfast under the new world order when he waded into an online debate with those who thought England should simply try to copy the way Germany produce footballers.

Bastian Schweinsteiger is targeting further glory with Germany after finally winning his first major trophy with the national side. Schweinsteiger had become used to just coming up short in major tournaments.

MARTIN SAMUEL AT THE MARACANA: The perfect team versus the perfect superstar that was the narrative here. On one side Die National Mannschaft, on the other Lionel Messi. Yet football has a way of confounding such expectation. Mario Gotze scored a team goal, true, but with a level of technique that would have won Messi the Golden Ball had it come from his foot.

Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has ignored all of the furore caused by him posing with what appeared to be a gun on Instagram by going jet-skiing with his fiancee Fanny Neguesha.

Russian hoaxers telephoned the Prince on two separate occasions earlier this year and duped him into believing he was chatting with environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Piers Morgan hit out at Prince Harry's comments in leaked telephone recordings that emerged last night from Russian hoaxers who contacted the Duke of Sussex at his luxury Canada hideaway.

In her role as Commodore-in-Chief of the Canadian navy, Princess Anne will Visit HMCS Regina, at sea, boarding in Vancouver and travelling to Esquimalt on Vancouver Island on May 1.

The Duke of Sussex was reportedly in Buckingham Palace yesterday for a series of meetings to plan his future work in the UK while wife Meghan returned to their son Archie in Canada.

The Beatles: Get Back, a in depth look at the fraught recording sessions for 1970 release Let It Be, will premiere in the United States and Canada on September 4th.

Prince Harry and Meghan have been in the UK performing their last royal duties before starting their new lives in Canada. The Duke stayed in Britain while Meghan returned to their new home.

MLS have announced that they have suspended their league season for the next 30 days due to the coronavirus outbreak - delaying David Beckham's first home game as Inter Miami owner. 

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, 44, began displaying mild flu-like symptoms, including a low fever, on Wednesday night. She is currently self-isolating at her Ottawa home as she awaits test results.

Manny Ranga, 38, along with his wife Violeta Perez, 37, from Vancouver, Canada bought boxes of the wipes from their local Costco only to resell them at upwards of four times what they paid.

Many people have either cancelled or postponed their travel amid the coronavirus outbreak, however, that's not the case for Jana Kramer and her family.

Sony's comic-book adaptation Bloodshot, with Vin Diesel, grossed an estimated $9.3million from 2,861 venues from Friday to Sunday in the US and Canada.

Starbucks will temporarily switch to a 'to-go' model for many of its stores in the US for at least two weeks and it will shut down cafes in 'high social-gathering locations', including malls.

Canadians Crystal Drinkwalter, 25, and Jazmyn Canning, 26, spent $18,400 turning a Mercedes van into a cozy home. They have no toilet but say they take a shovel when they go to bathroom.

A former traveler on board the MSC Meraviglia got off in Miami on March 8 leaving the ship's 103 remaining passengers to continue on to the next destination. He tested positive for coronavirus.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Canada in the nick of time as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada will close its borders to non-citizens on Monday.

Australia's first female PM Julia Gillard has self-isolated in London after hugging Canada's first lady Sophie Gregoire Trudeau at a WE Day youth charity event at Wembley Stadium.