Miroslav Klose, finally a World Cup winner at the fourth time of asking, will decide over the coming days whether he wants to continue playing for Germany

Miroslav Klose

Twelve years after tasting defeat in the final in Yokohama, Miroslav Klose took home his first World Cup winner’s medal on Sunday night after Germany beat Argentina 1-0 after extra-time.

Klose earned a standing ovation in the 88th minute when he made way for Germany’s match-winner Mario Goetze.

Having become the leading World Cup scorer of all time in Brazil, now seems a poignant time for the 36-year-old to call it a day, but he may yet carry on.

“I do not know yet if I will go on with the national team,” said the striker, who scored his 16th World Cup goal in the 7-1 win over Brazil.

“I’ll take a couple of nights to sleep on it and then make the right decision.”

Klose and his team-mates will probably not get much sleep over the next few nights.

The celebrations began straight after the final whistle and an hour later some of the players formed a merry conga as they filed past the media and out of the stadium with beer in hand.

Today, a huge party will be thrown in Berlin when the squad lands on home soil.

After coming so close to World Cup glory in the past, Klose deserves his moment of glory the most.

The Lazio striker made his World Cup bow in Japan , where he reached the final before losing 2-0 to Brazil.

Four years later he won the Golden Boot but Germany only made the semi-finals on home soil, losing to Italy thanks to two very late extra-time goals.

And four years ago Klose took home a second version of the medal no-one wants – for third place.

Now Klose can add a medal he really savours to his collection.

“This is outstanding, it crowns everything,” he said.

“We finished second once, were third twice, but this is world-class. I can hardly comprehend it. It was always a dream to be up there (getting the trophy) and not just having to stand around and have to applaud others.

“The team’s performances were important, we wanted to keep our calm because we knew we had the better quality to win it.”