On this day in 2014, hosts Brazil lost the Semi-Final of the World Cup against Germany by 7 goals to 1. The match was subsequently dubbed as the Mineirazo, evoking a previous "spirit of national shame" known as the Maracanazo in which Brazil unexpectedly lost the 1950 FIFA World Cup on home soil to Uruguay.
Both Brazil and Germany entered the tournament as favourites having won 8 World Cups between them. The tournament was played on Brazilian soil for the second time, the first one being in 1950. Brazil after winning the grand prize in 2002 had faced Quarter-final exits two times in a row. Germany on the other hand lost the final in 2002 and had to settle for the Bronze medals in 2006 and 2010. Despite not having won the World Cup since 1990 Germany broke a record by making a fourth consecutive Semi-Final appearance.
Both the teams came into the match after being undefeated in the tournament. The match had massive hype all over the football world. The game was expected to be a close one and above all entertaining. Brazilian winger Neymar Jr. missed the game after suffering a fractured vertebra in the quarter-final match against Colombia. Captain Thiago Silva was suspended for the match due to accumulation of yellow cards, despite an appeal which was subsequently denied. Despite the two notable absentees no one expected the result to turn out the way it did.
Both the teams started with a 4-2-3-1 system but Germany was the team that ran riot. It took only 11 minutes for Brazil to feel the absence of Thiago Silva after the Brazilian defence went to sleep allowing Thomas Muller to score from a corner. Germany continued to bombard the Brazilian goal and shocked the entire universe by scoring four times between the 23rd and 29th minute. The first half ended 5-0 in favour of the away side.
Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari made two halftime changes to try and save the game. Although the home side did improve in the second period Germany were way too comfortable with the five-goal lead. Andre Schurrle came off the bench to score twice and make it 7-0 to Germany. In the dying minutes of the game Oscar got a consolation goal and the game ended 7-1 matching Brazil's worst loss (6–0 to Uruguay in 1920) and ended a run of 62 competitive home matches unbeaten for Brazil.
The Brazilian players left the pitch in tears to a chorus of boos and jeers. Striker Fred in particular came under a lot of scrutiny for having no impact on the game. Kroos(2), Schurrle(2), Muller, Khedira, Klose scored the seven goals. Toni Kroos was awarded the man of the match award with three shots, two goals, 93% pass accuracy, one assist and two chances created.
The match created a lot of records including the obvious one of the biggest winning margin in a World Cup semi-final or final. The outcome was also the worst loss by a host country in World Cup history, as the six-goal difference doubled the previous record margin. The home fans gave the Germans a standing ovation towards the end, applauding both Schürrle's goal and Germany's overall performance
For Germany, the final result meant that, for the fourth straight time, they were positioned among the tournament's top 3 teams, moreover, the victory allowed the Germans to become the first side to reach eight World Cup finals. Germany's Miroslav Klose equalled the Brazilian Cafu as the player with most matches being on the winning side at the World Cup, with 16 victories. Klose played his 23rd World Cup match, equalling Paolo Maldini on 2nd place on most World Cup matches. In the match, he broke the record for the most goals scored at the World Cup with 16, overtaking Brazil's very own Ronaldo Nazario.
Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said the result was the "worst loss by a Brazilian national team ever" and accepted all responsibility for the defeat. He called it "the worst day of my life" and resigned after the tournament. The defeat to this day remains the most shocking and embarrassing result football has ever seen.
Germany ended up winning the World Cup after defeating Argentina in the final.Brazil on the other hand lost to Netherlands in the third place match.
Also Read | When West Germany won their first-ever World Cup by defeating Hungary against all the odds
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