Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted the outcome of games during this year’s World Cup soccer tournament, has died.

The eight-tentacled cephalopod oracle died of natural causes, the aquarium where he lived said Tuesday. He was 2 and a half.

Thomas Müller has admitted he never believed he would win the Golden Boot before the World Cup began.

Germany’s 20-year-old forward, who only made his international debut in March, scored five times in South Africa to clinch the award. David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan also scored five goals, but the Müller’s three assists saw him edge out the trio.

Germany end off their World Cup campaign on a high note after securing 3rd place in the game against Uruguay.

Here are all the goals and highlights from the game.

Ronaldo has praised Miroslav Klose’s scoring achievements after the German striker fell just short of the Brazilian World Cup winner’s 15-goal all-time tournament record.

Klose’s four goals in South Africa took him to 14 strikes across the past three World Cups, one less than Ronaldo’s record tally amassed during the 1998, 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

Sami Khedira’s 82nd-minute header earned Germany a 3-2 victory in a rousing and rain-soaked World Cup third-place play-off match here on Saturday. The Stuttgart midfielder rose to nod the ball beyond Fernando Muslera after Uruguay failed to clear a late corner, while Diego Forlan came inches away from a dramatic equaliser with an injury-time free-kick that struck the crossbar.

For evidence of just how much the play-off for third place at the World Cup means, you only have to go back to the summer of 2006 and recall the determination with which host nation Germany rounded off their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Portugal in Stuttgart.

This is the second time Germany and Uruguay have met to contest third place at a FIFA World Cup, with the pair doing battle at the same stage of Mexico 1970.

At the finals 40 years ago, Die Nationalmannschaft had lost a semi-final thriller 4-3 to Italy, while La Celeste had been downed 3-1 by eventual winners Brazil, with the Germans snatching third spot thanks to a solitary 26th-minute strike from Wolfgang Overath.

Klose is hoping to shake off a back injury before Germany’s match with Uruguay in what is likely to be his last chance to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer.

The Bayern Munich striker is just one goal shy of the all-time World Cup finals scoring record of 15 held by Brazil’s Ronaldo.

Klose’s two goals against Argentina in the quarter-finals put him level with Gerd Müller, the legendary German striker of the 1970s, and in sight of Ronaldo’s mark.

The 32-year-old is hoping to shake off a back injury before the third-place play-off match in Port Elizabeth, but insists the record books are not preoccupying his thoughts.

Germany striker Miroslav Klose could miss the World Cup 2010 third-place match against Uruguay because of injury.

Germany assistant coach Hans-Dieter Flick has revealed that Klose has a back injury and could miss Saturday’s game in Port Elizabeth.

The news is a bitter blow for Germany and Klose himself, who could miss out on the chance to become the top scorer in World Cup history.