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Cup fever at City Hall Plaza never flagged

Fans of finalists spirited till end

German language student Michael Renner (center) celebrated with friends Clara Gessner and Emanuel Weinberger after Germany’s Mario Goetze scored.Zack Wittman/Boston Globe/Globe Freelance

Under a hot July sun, the American flag fluttered in front of City Hall as hundreds gathered before a huge television awaiting the decisive game of the World Cup.

But there were other flags flapping — the black, red, and gold of Germany and the light blue and white of Argentina — tied to the fans who came to cheer as their favored nations’ teams went head-to-head on Sunday.

Guido Horstmoeller, who had a large German flag tied around his neck, stood next to his wife and two sons, staring up at the television before the game began. A resident of a city outside of Cologne, who was on vacation in the United States, Horstmoeller said he came to City Hall because he heard it was the best spot to watch the game in Boston.

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“The main thing is watching the game with people from all over the world,” he said.

On the other side of the plaza stood 19-year-old Alvaro Leiva of Buenos Aires, who also had tied his country’s flag around his neck. He too was traveling around the United States with his family and said he came to the plaza to avoid watching the game in a hotel bar.

About 20 minutes into the match, he pumped his hands in the air, cheering on his country’s team.

But Germany ended up besting Argentina, 1-0.

In a short telephone interview after the game, Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston said he was pleased with the turnout on City Hall Plaza Sunday, which he pegged at 500, and was happy to have held previous public viewings of World Cup games.

But Walsh indicated he didn’t feel the crushing defeat or ebullient exaltation of fans who stood in front of City Hall Sunday.

“I was kind of neutral in the game,” the mayor said.

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Joshua Miller can be reached at joshua.miller@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jm_bos.