World Cup fanatic Rihanna posted a picture of herself and football legend Pele soon after she landed in Brazil ahead of Sunday evening's final. The Barbados-born singer, who has been tweeting her thoughts on the World Cup throughout the duration of the tournament, met the 72-year-old in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil's third-place play-off against Holland on Saturday was a chance for a redemption following their jaw-dropping 7-1 semi-final humiliation to Germany.

At first glance it looked so simple. Almost a toe-poke, in fact. And then, around the stadium, those in celebration and despair searched for the replay. There it was, in all its glory. A goal to grace a World Cup final, a goal that was so much more than the sum of its parts.

MATCH ZONE: Huge roars greeted the Germans, with 'Oles' roaring around the stadium for any sustained passing sequence by Joachim Low's side.

Holland goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen sparked a flurry of internet jokes after sitting against the post during Saturday night's third place play-off.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Steve Bruce was an unpopular choice to replace Rafael Benitez, but Sam Allardyce insists Newcastle must stick with the former Sunderland boss once the takeover is complete.

Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik remains in talks over a new contract to stay at the club and reports linking to him an exit are 'only rumours', according to his agent.

Newcastle's Valentino Lazaro has slammed the Premier League and club executives over their plan to introduce blanket 30 per cent cuts to players' wages amid the coronavirus crisis.

England endured a day of humiliation as they were bowled out for just 58 in the first Test against New Zealand in Auckland. LAWRENCE BOOTH takes a look at some of the facts and figures

Belgium stars Michy Batshuayi and Thorgan Hazard had a go at playing the bagpipes ahead of their clash with Scotland on Tuesday. The duo also dressed in kilts ahead of their Euro 2020 qualifier.

Defenders are used to trailing in Eden Hazard's wake and according to Belgium manager Roberto Martinez the forward's backside plays a major factor in that.

The striker's immediate future at Old Trafford is one of uncertainty with United understood to be open to selling him. Inter Milan have expressed an interest but United want to recoup £75m on him.

According to The Sun , Magpies owner Mike Ashley is determined to land a manager with experience in the Premier League and Martinez fits that mould.

Romelu Lukaku was 'bored' at Manchester United and needed to leave for his own happiness, according to his international boss Roberto Martinez. 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY ROB DRAPER: The best coaches are always learning, sometimes even from their players. Vincent Kompany helped Martinez plot the downfall of Brazil at the World Cup.

The winger joined Real Madrid in a £150million deal from Chelsea in the summer but has failed to meet expectations. He arrived in Madrid carrying extra weight and has struggled to shift it.

Romelu Lukaku scored his 50th international goal as Belgium thrashed San Marino on Thursday and became the first side through to the Euro 2020 finals.

KAZAKHSTAN 0-2 BELGIUM: Michy Batshuayi and Thomas Meunier scored as Belgium beat Kazakhstan 2-0 away in their latest Euro 2020 qualifier.

RUSSIA 1-4 BELGIUM: Eden Hazard scored a brace as Belgium beat Russia 4-1 away to ensure they will finish top of Euro 2020 qualifying Group I.

Reports suggested Hazard was a stone overweight when he went on Real's pre-season tour of North America while former team-mate John Obi Mikel labelled him as one of the worst trainers he'd seen.

Roberto Martinez took over the reins with Belgium back in 2016 and led them to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup after losing the semi-final to eventual winners France.

On Tuesday, Emilio Estevez was back in California, with the veteran actor spotted hiking in Malibu with a mystery brunette.

Mikaël Theimer, who was born in Paris and now lives in Montreal, Canada, used Zoom, FaceTime and Facebook messenger to snap shots of people in their opulent homes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Rumors had begun to spread across social media over the past 48 hours that Shi Zhengli had escaped from China, and brought hundreds of confidential documents to the U.S. embassy in Paris.

A criminal gang, in Queensland, with members as young as 12 bragged about the police being powerless to stop them stealing cars and joyriding. 

She's the glamorous WAG with a taste for the finer things in life. But when it comes dealing with the pain of breastfeeding, Rebecca Judd, 37, swears by a surprisingly humble home remedy

To help stop the spread of the deadly respiratory virus, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Friday that all events with 500 people or more would be effectively banned from Monday.

On Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight, Elizabeth Sobinoff's mother Gillian grilled Seb Guilhaus over his finances. 

Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald had his fans in stitches on Thursday night, when he made a hilarious sledge at Coles during the 2020 AFL season-opening game.

AFL WAG Bec Judd is sharing more pearls of wisdom with her fans during the corornavirus lockdown.  

FOX FM radio star Brendan Fevola unveiled a dramatic new bleach blond look while in isolation at the weekend. 

As a public figure, footy WAG Emma Hawkins is used to dealing with anonymous online trolls.

The former Collingwood Football Club player has launched an online series called 'Dane Does Chapel From Home' in order to promote small businesses in Melbourne's iconic Chapel St.

Four ride-sharing drivers were tortured and killed last Friday after being called to the Jardim Santo Inácio favela in Salvador, Brazil. A fifth driver was abducted but escaped and alerted police.

Brooklyn Beckham has a new girlfriend. The son of Victoria and David Beckham stepped out with model Nicola Peltz in Beverly Hills on Wednesday afternoon to do some shopping.

TALK OF THE TOWN: Chloe Delevingne is nurturing her 'gut microbiome' by guzzling an uber-trendy probiotic drink called Symprove which contains four strains of live bacteria.

Amazon has become the latest company to cash in on the gig economy by launching a new service that will allow Australians to make money by delivering parcels.