We're at that point of the tournament where we're down to one game a day, but in each of those four days (well, except the 3rd place match) a lot is on the line for the nations who were able to survive five games at the World Cup and make it this far. Today it was Brazil against Germany, a matchup many claimed was unfortunate not to be the World Cup final. But what happened in this match, no one besides a liar or a psychic could dare claim to have seen coming.
Semifinal: Brazil vs. Germany
Result: An unbelievable 7-1 (dead serious, I didn't type the wrong numbers) victory for Germany
Goalscorers: 11' Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), 23' Miroslav Klose (Lazio), 24', 26' Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), 29' Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), 69', 79' Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), 90' Oscar (Chelsea)
Bookings: 68' Dante (Bayern Munich)
Lineups
Brazil (4-2-3-1)
Julio Cesar (Toronto FC); Maicon (Roma), David Luiz (Chelsea, captain), Dante (Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Fernandinho (Manchester City); Hulk (Zenit), Oscar (Chelsea), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk); Fred (Fluminense)
Changes from last match
Since Neymar is out for the World Cup due to injury, Thiago Silva was suspended for yellow card accumulation, and Luis Gustavo returned from yellow card suspension, Neymar, Silva, and Paulinho were dropped from the starting lineup to be replaced by Bernard, Dante, and Gustavo respectively
Subs:
Ramires (Chelsea) 46' for Fernandinho
Paulinho (Tottenham) 46' for Hulk
Willian (Chelsea) 70' for Fred
Germany (4-2-3-1)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich); Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich, captain), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke); Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich); Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal); Miroslav Klose (Lazio)
Changes from last match
Same starting 11 and formation used against France
Subs:
Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) 46' for Mats Hummels
Andre Schurrle (Chelsea) 58' for Miroslav Klose
Julian Draxler (Schalke) 76' for Sami Khedira
It's a big deal when a single match gets its own Wikipedia page (World Cup finals, Battle of Nuremberg 2006, Miracle on Grass 1950, Non-Agression Pact of Gijon 1982) It's a match that no one will be able to forget (I know I won't). So many records and landmarks reached I probably won't hit them all in this review but I'll do my best. Brazil were in for a nightmare it seemed, facing the mighty Germans without both their best offensive (Neymar) and defensive (Thiago Silva) players, but they had the support of their nation and the comfort of their own backyard, along with as much confidence as you can imagine. They wanted to win the World Cup for their fans and for Neymar. Brazil had a brief bright start but then Germany started playing their game and Thomas Muller's 5th goal this tournament and 10th World Cup goal overall released the floodgates for Germany, and after about a half hour Brazil found themselves down 5-0 courtesy of goals from Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, and Miroslav Klose. That's the fastest a team has scored 5 goals in a world cup match, the first time a team scored 5 goals in 1 half since Poland did that to Haiti (congrats Haiti, you're being compared to Brazil) in 1974, and most importantly that's Klose's 16th World Cup goal, breaking Brazilian Ronaldo's record of 15 goals and making Klose the sole top scorer in World Cup history. Germany tried to keep their professionalism as much as they could but you had a feeling that at half time they knew they had this game wrapped up as they subbed off their best defender Mats Hummels to give him some playing time, as well as putting in Julian Draxler, who surprisingly (for me at least) hadn't played a single minute before this match). 2 goals from Andre Schurrle made it 7-0, a scoreline last seen at the last World Cup when Portugal beat North Korea by that scoreline (Haiti and North Korea, such fine company, Brazil. Dare I mention Tahiti (10-0 loss to Spain) or El Salvador (10-1 loss to Hungary) ?), this would've been the sole biggest loss in Brazilian soccer history. Oscar did score a late goal to deny an otherwise impressive Manuel Neuer his clean sheet (which probably made Julio Cesar, who was obviously having a terrible day at the office, and by office I mean his goal, feel slightly better) and made this result Brazil's joint worst loss ever along with a 6-0 loss to Uruguay in the 1920 Copa America. But after generations of legendary footballers/soccer players, a legacy to live up to, in a World Cup semifinal, in their home nation, this loss will have definitely inflicted more pain to Brazilians everywhere. Fans and players alike were upset and emotional after this loss, flags being burnt, riots happening, and it's just the worst case scenario you could've imagined Brazil being eliminated from a World cup they hosted. They just can't catch a break, first losing 2-1 to rivals Uruguay in the final in 1950 and now being demolished 7-1 by Germany in 2014. This win will leave German supporters absolutely in love with this team, but then you have to remember Germany's real goal is to win the World Cup, and as sweet as this victory is for them and as much as they should cherish this moment, Joachim Low's side must refocus on dealing with either Netherlands or Argentina in the Maracana.
I know Brazil have been eliminated but technically their World Cup isn't over as they will play the loser of the Netherlands/Argentina match in the 3rd place match in Brasilia, so I'll save the elimination analysis for that post.
Up next
Semifinal: Netherlands vs. Argentina
A place in the World Cup final against Germany is on the line as two strong teams spearheaded by two world class players. Lionel Messi has been instrumental to Argentina's success at this World Cup but Angel di Maria has been performing well as well. Arjen Robben, despite finding himself in some diving controversies, has been phenomenal for Netherlands, and Robin van Persie has been decent too. But injury concerns threaten both teams. Angel di Maria is out of the World Cup and Sergio Aguero is likely not 100%, while Netherlands will be concerned with the health of Robin van Persie and Nigel de Jong. Will Netherlands beat Argentina to make it to their 4th ever World Cup final and ensure Europe's first World Cup triumph in South American soil, or will Argentina be able to stop the Dutch and get one step closer to giving Lionel Messi the World Cup title he needs to truly be a legend?
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