A peaceful World Cup discussion on a Berlin bus turned into a dispute, resulting in a bus wreck after a disputing passenger struck the driver's head with a bottle.

Police say the dispute was based on the divergent views of the passenger and the driver over the reason for Germany's elimination by Italy in the current World Cup tournament.

The incident occurred on Tuesday just hours after Italy beat Germany 2-0 at the World Cup semifinals. Only the driver and the passenger were in the bus, driving near the area where the German hotel lodged in the south of the country.

"When the driver commented that the 'German players just weren't good enough', the passenger started insulting him," Reuters quotes the German police statement. "He then suddenly hit the driver in the head with a beer bottle."

After the passenger struck the driver, he lost control of the bus. The car drove into a parked Mercedes, twisting the cabin of the car, despite driving at a moderate speed of just 30 kph (18 mph) at the time. Frightened by the incident and a possible reaction from the driver, the passenger opened the bus and vanished.

German police say they are still seeking the aggressor, whom the bus driver said was in a number 20 German national team jersey with the name of German forward Lucas Podolski behind.