Germany finished their World Cup campaign on a high with a 3-2 victory over Uruguay in the third place playoff in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night. A highly charged match with plenty of action was on the menu, and the teams didn’t disappoint.

The five goal thriller at Nelson Mandela Bay got off to an eventful start with a horror challenge from Germany’s Aogo on Perez after five minutes. The defender was lucky to escape with a yellow card, and Perez was lucky to escape with his leg intact.

There were chances at both ends, with both teams looking determined to finish the World Cup in third place, and with Muller, Suarez and Forlan all still in contention for the Golden Shoe. The Germans made five changes from the side that lost to Spain, the most notable of these being Podolski and Klose out injured, while keeper Hans Jorg Butt came in to replace Nueuer.

The fans didn’t have to wait long for the opening goal. After 18 minutes, Schweinsteiger launched a missile of a shot towards Muslera in the Uruguayan goal. The keeper spilled the shot, and the ever present Thomas Muller was on hand to slide home from eight yards.

Schweinsteiger went from hero to villan for Germany just before the half hour mark. The usually steady midfielder was dispossessed in his own half by Perez, who quickly passed to Suarez. After composing himself, Suarez slipped the ball to Cavani, who evaded the last defender and smashed the ball home to level the scores from a tight angle.

The South Americans then upped their game, creating a torrent of chances with some slick passing and dogged determination. The Germans weren’t to be outdone though, and kept the Uruguay defence on it’s toes for long periods of the match.

After the break, the tempo seemed to go up a notch and it was clear that there was going to be some more goals in the match. The pick of the bunch came from the in form Diego Forlan who put Uruguay into the lead on the 51st minute. The ex-Manchester United man caught the ball on the half volley from Arevalo Rios and smashed the ball into the back of the net from outside the box, leaving the keeper rooted to the spot.

Uruguay couldn’t hold onto the lead for long, Germany snuck back into the game with a goal to make it 2-2 on the 56th minute from Jansen. Boateng floated a great ball into the box from the wing, Muslera in the Uruguay goal came out and flapped at it, allowing the big defender to nod the ball home from just a few yards out.

As the match went on, Germany looked more and more like they were going to take the match, but were held until the 81st minute before Kherdira gave his side a 3-2 lead. Muslera was again made to look suspect by a corner from Ozil. Confusion arose in the penalty area as the keeper missed the ball and the defence failed to clear. The ball bounced precariously close to the Uruguay goal, and sat up nicely for Khedira to net a looping header from four yards out.

With Uruguay chasing the game and Diego Forlan one goal away from potentially capturing the Golden Shoe, the South Americans were thrown the slimmest of chances as they won a free kick on the edge of the box with the last kick of the ball. The Athletico Madrid talisman stuck the ball sweetly but the ball cannoned off the crossbar, as German fans sighed in relief and kept up their impressive history in the World Cup, finishing third in this year’s competition.