You’ve been through hard times, very hard times. But, you manage to sail through. When the penultimate moment comes, you lose your trump card. But, you still out up a brave front and face it. But then, you’re butchered, right in front of the people who love you. This stands true for Brazil, who went into the match against Germany with a lot at stake: the semi-finals, and a team without their key striker, Neymar. And tragedy struck: 7 times.
As the teams took field in the first semi-final encounter, little did Brazil know that its fans were about to experience their worst nightmare on an international platform. The Germans walked in looking like an aggressive bunch, but soon their actions mirrored their attitude. Just minutes into the match and there was a freeflow of goals that almost looked surreal, as if a replay of the previous ones. One, two, three, four and five and the Brazilians looked clueless. Thomas Müller in the 11th minute began an avalanche of goals that refused to stop. This was followed by lightning fast goals from Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos, Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira to leave the Brazilians devastated.
But, this was only till half time. The second half saw the Germans rub salt on the injuries they had inflicted on the hosts. Two more German goals by André Schürrle meant the final nail in the Brazilian coffin had been planted. Their weak defense was exposed right in front of their home crowd. Tears were unstoppable, emotions, out of control and the atmosphere looked like a funeral: yes, fans were mourning the murder of Brazilian soccer by the Germans.
Before this match happened, the odds were stacked against the Germans. Home support and their own track record didn’t really make it optimistic for them. In their past two semi-final appearances, they were kicked out by Italy and Spain, both of whom went on to take the World Cup home. But then, they emerged as the underdogs, as the ‘giant killers’, who stabbed the Brazilians seven times over. Brazil’s only saving grace, if at all that was one, was the 90th minute goal by Oscar. That was it. Game over for Brazil.