FINAL SCORE: Germany 7, Brazil 1
This is one of those results that leaves you speechless more than it leaves you with a ton to say. Brazil -- on their home soil, as the pre-tournament favorite -- was absolutely dominated by Germany.
The first few minutes looked like Brazil would be on the front foot, but that was quickly erased by an onslaught of German goals -- five in an 18-minute span to be precise. Thomas Muller opened it up with a wide-open finish off a corner kick, which was a sign of things to come. Brazil was completely unorganized at the back, failing to simply mark Germany's attackers and lazily getting dispossessed in the midfield.
Miroslav Klose put himself along atop the all-time World Cup goal-scoring leaders for Germany's second goal, and then Toni Kroos notched the third and fourth shortly after. Sami Khedira capped the astonishing run with a fifth Germany goal in the 29th minute.
Brazil opened the second half with some momentum, but impact Germany sub Andre Schurrle put an end to that. He bagged two goals in the second half, putting the Europeans up 7-0 heading into the final minutes. Oscar finally broke through for Brazil, not that it will give them any consolation.
Both teams await the result of Wednesday's Argentina vs. Netherlands match to find out their weekend opponents.
90' -- GOAL! Oscar puts Brazil on the board with a nice finish past Manuel Neuer.Moments earlier, Mesut Ozil rolled a wide-open chance wide of the net -- and Bastian Schweinsteiger was not happy about the lackadaisical effort. And Neuer was annoyed he allowed a goal.
80' -- GOAL! Andre Schurrle bags another one, putting Germany up by a touchdown. That's also now the record for most goals scored in a World Cup semifinal by one team.(GIF via @FlyByKnite)
76' -- Germany sub.
- IN: Julian Draxler
- OUT: Sami Khedira
69' -- Brazil sub.
- IN: Willian
- OUT: Fred
69' -- GOAL! Andre Schurrle gets his second goal of the tournament, after a wide-open Philipp Lahm laid it through the box for him.
68' -- BOOKED! Dante is given a yellow card for a poor challenge on club teammate Thomas Muller.
67' -- The game has predictably become wide-open, with Germany pushing for a sixth goal and Brazil just looking to break through. Neuer has had some time to relax since the opening few minutes of the half, while Germany has seemingly had multiple 3-on-1 breaks since the break.
61' -- Terrific save by Julio Cesar, who denied Thomas Muller another goal. It took an outstretched left hand to push it over the bar.
58' -- Germany sub.
- IN: Andre Schurrle
- OUT: Miroslav Klose
54' -- And Neuer continues to be tested by a rejuvenated Brazil side. Paulinho was one-on-one with the Germany keeper, but Neuer saved the initial shot and then blocked away Paulinho's rocket of a rebound. (GIF via @FlyByKnite)
52' -- Another excellent save by Neuer on a shot by Oscar. Brazil has been dominating the opening minutes of the second half.
51' -- Terrific stop by Neuer. Ramires was through on the German goal after a ball from Fred, and looked to lay it off to a wide-open Oscar, but Neuer dove and knocked it away.
50' -- Brazil has started the half on the front foot, hoping to get at least none quick goal. Fred fell in the box, then Oscar was tackled in the area as well.
46' -- Subs.
GERMANY
- IN: Per Mertesacker
- OUT: Mats Hummels
BRAZIL
- IN: Paulinho
- OUT: Fernadinho
- IN: Ramires
- OUT: Hulk
HALFTIME: Well, that escalated quickly.
Germany was favored to win the match, and many people expected them to control most of the possession. But this? 5-0 at halftime? An onslaught of goals in the opening 30 minutes? No one saw this coming.
Germany was an absolute machine in the first half, while Brazil continued to give the Europeans plenty of space and time on the ball.
Thomas Muller opened the scoring in the 11th minute, volleying in a Toni Kroos corner kick. David Luiz lost Muller in the box, and no one was even close to the German attacker when he finished.
And then came the nonstop scoring. Miroslav Klose was next, setting the all-time record for World Cup goals. Toni Kroos bagged two goals in quick succession, the first coming from a beautiful left-footed strike and the second coming when he dispossessed Brazil in the midfield, got the ball back and buried it. Sami Khedira, who had an excellent half, scored the fifth.
Here's the eye-popping fact: Brazil hasn't allowed five goals in an entire World Cup since 1998, per ESPN's coverage.
45' -- A smattering of Brazilian reactions.
43' -- Brazil has settled down somewhat, getting some chances in Germany's third of the pitch. But they're still not marking anyone, allowing Germany to push forward without much of a care.
36' -- Brazil is still leaving acres of space in their defensive half of the field -- I get that they're down 5-0, but this looks far more likely like Germany will get another three goals than Brazil will get one.
34' -- We're all caught up now after Germany's onslaught of goals. Credit to @TopDrawerSoccer for the Vines.
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