Gotze needed time to enjoy WC goal

Germany's World Cup-winning star Mario Gotze has said he stepped out of the limelight after his World Cup-winning goal because he needed time to reflect on the achievement.

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The Bayern Munich midfielder, who came on as a substitute to seal the 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina, told Germany's Bild newspaper: "To be totally honest, I just had to let this experience sink in. After reaching our objective, I just wanted to enjoy the moment."

Gotze said he had not lived up to his own expectations during the tournament, and explained that had made him careful about how he reacted to critics after his winner.

"I wanted to avoid saying something in such a situation which could have come from all of the euphoria and which I would always have been judged on," the 22-year-old added.

"I prefer to be modest and considered about such things. That's why I stepped out of the limelight to begin with."

Gotze described his sublime volley as "just intuition," adding: "When you find yourself in such a position, you don't really think about it much. I could only really describe it now I've seen it again."

He said the moment had given him the taste for more glory, adding: "I want to take more responsibility and win more titles.

"I've scored 34 goals and set up 35 in 96 games for Bayern and Dortmund, but I'm sure there's a lot more to come from me."