Germany are in to the World Cup final after they embarrassed host nation Brazil 7-1 in Belo Horizonte this evening.
Bernard came in for the injured Neymar, whilst the suspended Thiago Silva was replaced by Dante at centre-back. Joachim Low meanwhile, gave Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira a start, with Blancos target Toni Kroos alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Even without their star man the Selecao were straight out of the blocks and looking to attack the visitors. An early corner from Oscar was defended well, whilst Manuel Neuer saw a shot from Marcelo whistle wide of his left-hand post.
The Brazil full-backs were definitely an area Germany were targeting though, and almost made the most of the space they were afforded with just 10 minutes gone. A cross from Thomas Muller found Khedira, but the former Stuttgart man saw his shot cannon off of Kroos.
And it was one of those full-backs, Marcelo, who conceded a corner after 11 minutes that would prove deadly. A ball in from the right by Schweinsteiger found Muller all alone at the far post, and the Bayern Munich man volleyed past Julio Cesar for the opening goal.
The Mannschaft were having so much joy in wide positions, but found chances at a premium with Miroslav Klose somewhat isolated. When they did have men in support though, they were dangerous.
And that was the case on 23 minutes. A pass from Mesut Ozil found Muller, who teed up Klose, and the Lazio man tapped in to become the World Cup’s all-time leading goalscorer.
The men in yellow were shell-shocked – and it got even worse just moments later. A cross from the right went all the way to Toni Kroos on the edge of the area, and the 24-year-old fired a first-time effort past the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.
A whole nation of 200m was stunned. And amazing, things got embarrassing just midway through the half. Fernandinho lost possession to Khedira, who squared to Kroos inside the area, and the youngster slotted the ball past Cesar to make it 4-0.
It was sensational stuff from Low’s men – and amazingly, they added to their tally on the half hour mark. More bad play from Brazil, this time from David Luiz, saw Ozil get the ball, pull back to Khedira, and watch as the goalkeeper again had no chance from a coolly taken effort.
After the break, there was only pride to play for, but that was shattered as the German’s held strong at the back. Brazil came forward limply, but even at 5-0 down, without Neymar they looked aimless in attack.
Oscar and Ramires both tested Neuer, but the goalkeeper was equal to their efforts – as he was when Paulinho forced an amazing double save from the Bayern man.
The match was now at walking pace – and that proved even worse for the host side, as they conceded a sixth on 70 minutes. A simple pass and move by Lahm to Andre Schurrle saw the Chelsea striker unmarked inside the area, and it took just a second for the 24-year-old to poke it into the net.
And just to rub salt in to an already gaping wound, with 10 minutes remaining the European’s made it a complete and utter rout. A neat flick from Muller found Schurrle on the left-hand side of the area, and the substitute half-volleyed the ball in off the underside of the bar and past Julio Cesar.
There was one high point for the hosts on 90 minutes, as a breakaway from the Selecao ended with Oscar going past Jerome Boateng and beating Neuer with virtually the last kick of the game.
Brazil 1-7 Germany
Scorers: Oscar 90 (B); Muller 11 (G), Klose 23 (G), Kroos 25, 26 (G), Khedira 30 (G), Schurrle 70, 80 (G)
Brazil: Julio Cesar, David Luiz (c), Fernandinho (Paulinho 45), Marcelo, Hulk (Ramires 45), Fred (Willian 70), Oscar, Dante, Luiz Gustavo, Bernard, Maicon
Germany: Neuer, Hoewedes, Hummels (Mertesacker 45), Khedira (Draxler 76), Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Klose (Schurrle 58), Muller, Lahm (c), Kroos, Boateng
