--- description: The host country's fans went from stunned to comatose, like they were stuck in a bad dream title: Germany Crushes Catastrophic Brazil 7-1 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a4732c85220cc1a/69869af7cd804dc716ccbd88/d2d41fe66a34408c8a1432cdcdaf612e-01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [World Cup](/tag/world-cup/) ## World Cup Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Germany Crushes Catastrophic Brazil 7-1 ## Video: Watching The World Cup From Space [Watch (HLS stream): Watching The World Cup From Space](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/K3ZCScXX.m3u8) (0:40)  _Published 2014-07-09. Watching The World Cup From Space_ by [Bill Saporito](/author/bill-saporito/) ## Bill Saporito Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 8, 2014 10:18 PM CUT  A Brazil soccer fan cries as Germany scores against her team at a semifinal World Cup match as she watches the game on a live telecast in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, July 8, 2014. A Brazil soccer fan cries as Germany scores against her team at a semifinal World Cup match as she watches the game on a live telecast in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, July 8, 2014.Bruno Magalhaes—AP by [Bill Saporito](/author/bill-saporito/) ## Bill Saporito Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 8, 2014 10:18 PM CUT Brazil’s World Cup dream didn’t just end in the semifinal; it was shattered spectacularly into tiny yellow pieces. A fast and tactical German team shredded Brazil’s largely absent defense five times in 18 amazing first-half minutes to walk into the finals. Brazil entered the game without its leading scorer, Neymar, and its defensive captain Thiago Silva but with the backing of its passionate crowd. But the Seleção went out of the game with its reputation as soccer’s most creative force in tatters. A team that hadn’t lost at home since 1975 suffered a defeat that was almost unthinkable. The hammering began 11 minutes into the game when Brazil failed to mark Thomas Mueller on a corner kick—a criminal lapse against any German team— and Mueller took his time to sweep the ball past goalie Julio Cesar. The goal silenced the roaring home crowd but it was hardly a disaster. Croatia had scored first against Brazil in the opening game. Until that time, Brazil had held its own, even starting by brightly bringing its attack into Germany’s end. But the Seleção was also ceding massive amounts of space on the field, as it had done against Colombia. But Germany is certainly not Colombia and soon began running into gaps in the Brazilian lines with menace. That menace turned to 2-0 when Miroslav Klose collected Mueller’s pass deep in the Brazil box and after Cesar blocked his initial shot he had an easy time pushing the rebound past the hapless keeper. The goal made Klose the all time leading World Cup scorer with 16. The crowd went from stunned to comatose but they were soon to be shaken out of this bad dream by something even worse. Hardly a minute later, Dante, in for Silva, fed a hospital ball to Fernandinho 40 yards in front of his own goal. Fernandinho was dispossessed and Germany was down Brazil’s throat again. Kroos easily slotted home a couple of passes later. Barely two minutes after that, Brazil failed to clear a rolling ball delivered across its own 18 yard box and Toni Kroos smacked a left footer past Cesar. By the time that Sami Khedira collected Germany’s fifth goal in the 29th minute after exchanging passes with Mesut Oezil, Brazil’s defense had been reduced to numb spectators who looked as if they had just watched a horrific car crash. The Brazilians were whistled off the pitch by the crowd that loved them at the start of the game. “It looks as if it’s 11 against 9,” noted television commentator Steve McManaman. It looked worse than that. At the half, Brazil benched the execrable Hulk and replaced him with Ramires and took Fernandinho out for Paulinho. The changes, if way too late, injected some life into Brazil, and within the first 10 minutes of the second half produced three great goal scoring chances. But Manuel Nueur’s twin, point-blank saves against Paulinho signaled that there would be no miracle comeback. Instead, with Brazil taking increasing risks, Germany piled on more goals. Substitute Andre Schuerrle added two well-taken goals before Oscar managed a hardly-a-consolation goal in the 90th minute. The Brazilians walked off the field in tears; history will not be kind to them. ### Brazil’s Having A Bad Day  A Brazilian soccer fan cries as she watches a live telecast of the match between Brazil and Germany in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 08, 2014. Bruno Magalhaes—AP  Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar receives the opening goal during the match between Brazil and Germany at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Marcus Brandt—EPA  A fan of Brazil weeps after Germany scores in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Dario Lopez-Mills—AP  Miroslav Klose of Germany scores his team's second goal past Julio Cesar of Brazil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Semi Final match between Brazil and Germany at Estadio Mineirao on July 8, 2014 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Robert Cianflone—Getty Images  Fans of Brazil react while watching a broadcast of the 2014 World Cup semi-final against Germany at the Fan Fest in Brasilia, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters  Brazil's Fernandinho reacts after Germany's Toni Kroosduring scored his side's third goal at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Natacha Pisarenko—AP  A Brazil fan shows her disapointment at a street of Rio de Janeiro, during the semi-final football match between Brazil and Germany at Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Yasuyoshi Chiba—AFP/Getty Images  Brazil's Marcelo watches as Germany's Sami Khedira's shot scores his side's fifth goal at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Natacha Pisarenko—AP  Fans of Brazil at the FIFA Fan Fest in Rio de Janeiro, gesture during the match at Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Tasso Marcelo—AFP/Getty Images  Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar can not stop a shot by Germany's Toni Kroos to score his side's fourth goal at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Natacha Pisarenko—AP  A Brazilian soccer fan cries as she watches her team get beat during a live telecast of the semifinals World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Germany, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 08, 2014. Bruno Magalhaes—AP  David Luiz of Brazil retrieves the ball from the net after Germany's sixth goal scored by Andre Schuerrle past goalkeeper Julio Cesar of Brazil at Estadio Mineirao on July 8, 2014 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Martin Rose—Getty Images  A Brazil soccer fan cries as she watches her team lose to Germany in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Bruno Magalhaes—AP  Brazil's Marcelo reacts after Germany's Andre Schuerrle scored the team's seventh goal at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte on July 8, 2014. Kai Pfaffenbach—Reuters  A fan of the Brazilian national soccer team looks on as her team loses to Germany in a semi-final match in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 8, 2014. Dario Lopez-Mills—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/"},"headline":"Germany Crushes Catastrophic Brazil 7-1","datePublished":"2014-07-08T22:18:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:08.625Z","description":"The host country's fans went from stunned to comatose, like they were stuck in a bad dream","url":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/","keywords":["World Cup","History","Germany","brazil","Soccer","Neymar"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a4732c85220cc1a/69869af7cd804dc716ccbd88/d2d41fe66a34408c8a1432cdcdaf612e-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bill Saporito","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/bill-saporito/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a4732c85220cc1a/69869af7cd804dc716ccbd88/d2d41fe66a34408c8a1432cdcdaf612e-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"APTOPIX Brazil Soccer WCup Brazil Germany","caption":"APTOPIX Brazil Soccer WCup Brazil Germany","creditText":"Bruno Magalhaes—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-cup/","name":"World Cup"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/","name":"Germany Crushes Catastrophic Brazil 7-1"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watching The World Cup From Space","description":"Watching The World Cup From Space","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/K3ZCScXX/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-07-09T19:46:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/K3ZCScXX.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/","duration":"PT40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2967678/germany-crushes-catastrophic-brazil/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```