BUENOS AIRES — Pain-stricken Argentines held their heads high after watching their national team give it all against a powerful Germany but come up short in extra time, losing 1-0 in the country’s first World Cup finals appearance in 24 years. Entering the match as the underdog after Germany’s 7-1 thrashing of host Brazil, Argentina showed a great deal of determination during much of the game, creating several opportunities to score in the first 90 minutes of regulation time. In a packed Plaza San Martin, where fans climbed atop lamp posts to catch a glimpse of the match on a giant screen, a crowd of some 20,000 people came to life and shouted every time the team led by captain Lionel Messi entered German area. “I feel an enormous sadness,” 19-year-old Soledad Canelas, carrying a blue-and-white Argentine flag, said after the game. “I had the illusion of seeing Argentina become champion for the first time in my life.” Argentina last played in a World Cup final in 1990, when it lost to West Germany. Four years earlier, it became world champion for the second time led by captain Diego Maradona, also in a final against the Germans. After yesterday’s match,…