Germany Lays Brazil to Rest

Brazil came out of the tunnel looking wounded but fierce. An injured Neymar and suspended Thiago Silva left Brazil missing both a key striker and defender. Belting out their national anthem, Neymars Jersey proudly on display, Brazil looked intimidating indeed. Determined, driven, and hungry would be the best way to describe their pre match attitude. However on the field the story quickly changed.

If you haven’t caught wind of it yet Brazil lasted a total of 11 minutes before conceding a goal. Hope was not lost, that is until Germany racked up 4 more goals all within the 20-30 minute mark. Those ten minutes were both straight up cringe worthy and down right disappointing. The roaring fans had gone silent and had been reduced to tears, the players now showing the face of frustration and anger. Before the final whistle sounded Germany had put 7 goals into the net of the World Cup hosts, breaking records and hearts. Oscar managed to squeak one in before the final whistle, but it was a goal with no celebration. This match was truly one to be remembered.

The story from the German side is one of precise, skillful and stalwart performance. Germany easily dismantled the Brazilian defense and gave the world a lesson on stellar performance.  It was also a record breaking performance, Miroslav Klose is now the top scorer in World Cup history with 16 world cup goals as well as the top scoring German player. Other than a rather easy semi-final win Germany came out with a tremendous boost of confidence. They now go on to play either Argentina or Netherlands on Sunday in the World Cup final.

Personally, Brazil’s performance was dismal from start to finish. Their defense was completely disheveled and Germany took complete advantage of this. But as I see it, the German side was the hungrier of the two teams, Brazil simply didn’t want the win enough. Brazil went into the game missing Neymar and Silva, and a large number of people are blaming the loss on their absence. Frankly what I saw was a team stacked with high performing players who are more than capable of picking up the slack of a few missing players. I’m sure the score board wouldn’t have been far different if Neymar and Silva had both been there. Overall it was a truly pathetic performance by the Brazil side. The defense could not handle anything the Germans threw at them and the strikers couldn’t hit the ball in any manner that could be seen as threatening. Germany really brought their best today, and Brazil couldn’t measure up. This has by far been the craziest match of the World Cup thus far.

Now on the fans side. The support we saw in the stands today is what makes the beautiful game beautiful. The roaring cheers, the stunned tears, and the solemn, attentive silence. The fans in the stands truly captured the heart of the sport. They even started applauding the German side as they put the ball in the net two additional times in the second half. The conduct of these supporters was touching and heartbreaking, while others will only remember the insanity of the match, I will be remembering the passion of the fans.

What was your take on the Brazil Germany semifinal match? We would love to hear in the comment section below!