On 13 July 2014, Boateng won the 2014 World Cup with Germany after they defeated Argentina 1–0 in the final. He played a central role in Germany's victory in the final, winning 83% of his duels and making several good tackles alongside teammate Mats Hummels, while only committing 1 foul throughout the entire 120 minutes. Several media sources named him as man of the match, although the official man of the match was Mario Götze.