Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup)

"The fireworks began at dawn. All around this city, loud pops and bangs rang out as men and women and children, so many dressed in yellow, set off flares and beeped car horns. It was supposed to be a magical day. The Brazilian national soccer team, playing at home, was one game away from a World Cup final. No one could have guessed the tears would come before halftime. No one could have imagined there would be flags burning in the streets before dinner. Certainly no one could have envisioned that any Brazilian fans, watching their team play a semifinal in a celebrated stadium, would ever consider leaving long before full time. It all happened. The 2014 World Cup, first plagued by questions about funding and protests and infrastructure and construction, then buoyed by scads of goals and dramatic finishes and a contagious spirit of joy from the local residents, will ultimately be remembered for this: the home team, regarded as the sport’s superpower, being throttled like an overmatched junior varsity squad that somehow stumbled into the wrong game."

"Here's Toni Kroos. Sami Khedira. Now Müller. Free kick's going to be given Brazil's way; this is turbocharged."

"Klose, with a corner. Goes a long way and a goal! It's him again! Thomas Müller with his tenth World Cup goal in history, to put the Germans ahead! Well Brazil were behind in their opening game of the tournament against Croatia and came back to win. But, it might be a much harder job. Chasing Germany, of all the players."

"Oh, Kroos. Here's more problems here, it's Klose! The history man, he's done it! Two, nil! And that's the goal that puts him in the record books, forever! Brazil being taken to the cleaners, so far. Sixteen goals, an all time World Cup record. And this is his twenty-third World Cup appearance. The tears of Brazil, and that young lady not the only one spilling tears around this nation at the moment. But, wait a minute! Here's Bernard! Can he do something to get Brazil back into this?"

"But, it isn't working. They're two down. Lahm, this time. Müller missed it! And that's three, Toni Kroos! Germany are running riot! They cannot believe it! Splendid hit, from Kroos. You've got something on that, as well. With Julio Cesar, couldn't keep it out. And Toni Kroos marks his fiftieth cap for Germany, with a goal. And once or twice in there, it's just resembling a shooting gallery. Oh, and look at this now. This could get worse; Khedira plays it inside. Oh! It's four, nil! Unbelievable! Kroos again! And Brazil are just being played off the park! This is quite astonishing."

"Two in two minutes for him, and Brazil's World Cup is surely over. This is the first time ever, that Brazil have trailed by four goals in a World Cup match. Four-nil down, twenty-six minutes on the clock. Germany, just too good? This is Brazil, not so much without Neymar. But, without Thiago Silva. Organizing their defense, and this could get a lot worse. Yeah? Unless this team tightens up somehow. Terrible mistake by Fernandinho on that last goal."

"Look at this, again! Khedira plays it wide, Özil! Khedira again! Five, nil! This is utterly, beyond belief! Where is this goal scoring going to end? Well, if this was boxing? The referee would be stopping it, to save Brazil from further punishment. Five goals in the first twenty-nine minutes from a rampant Germany; Brazil have simply unraveled. Fred, here's Luiz Gustavo. Marcelo. Just need something, anything. To lift their confidence, but."

"Lahm, Khedira. Lahm, again. Trying to make sure, and they do make sure! Six, nil! You wonder where all this is going to end for Germany? Schürrle, getting in on the act. Well, they're really booing now. André Schürrle. Fred was booed off in the middle of all that. And Schürrle gets his second goal of the tournament, he got one against Algeria as well. Six, nil. Germany, really rubbing Brazil's noses in it."

"I think it's a sort of morbid fascination, for the Brazil fans now. They've paid a lot for their tickets, they're going to see it, whatever the story. I don't think they'll be watching a replay when they get home, somehow. How good are this German team?"

"Could be more, here's Schürrle! Once again, that's seven! An utter humiliation for Brazil, just got worse! Germany in seventh heaven! What a hit that is; nothing Julio Cesar could've done really. That was travelling at the speed of sound, a devastated Julio Cesar. A devastated Brazil; a devastated nation. Most goals ever scored in a World Cup semi-final by one team. The records are tumbling by the second, it seems here. Ramires. I think these players frankly would like to get off this pitch and go into a tunnel, that led to Tristan da Cunha or somewhere. Bernard's cross, Marcelo. There's not enough room on the caption. They've got roll it through, to get all the goal scorers on. Two goals for André Schürrle since coming on as a substitute."

"Brazil, in their famous history have allowed seven goals only one other time. That was in 1934, when they lost eight-four to Yugoslavia. Well, you and I are pinching ourselves. I think everybody here is. Seven, nil? Yeah, me too. You've got to say, as bad have Brazil have been? Germany have just been absolutely brilliant. Schürrle. Olés now, and I think the Brazil fans are starting to join with it. They're starting to applaud the Germans, what else can they do? Really? Well it's an embarrassment for Luiz Felipe Scolari, as the coach. Isn't he, is? Schürrle, to cut that one back. And you wonder what the? The reaction of the fans will be? We? We've heard about protests and demonstrations, people saying this World Cup wasn't worth the money that was spent on it because more should be invested in the infrastructure of the country. Will those protests come back again? Well, there's going to be a big clear-out isn't there? For certain, after this World Cup. Okay, they've got to the semi-final. That's no mean achievement; plenty didn't of course. Here's Lahm, he'll want to get on the act as well. Schürrle wants a hat-trick. Well, you're watching a game here that's going to go down as one of the most astonishing in the entire history of the World Cup. Bernard, Paulinho. Marcelo, they're trying to give the crowd something. Ramires, no. He's not in the mood for getting beaten."

"As quiet as a library."

"In the annals of time there has never been a game like this – it's total humiliation. Every facet of defending – a lack of urgency, communication, positioning, the cover, it's about four levels below rock bottom."

"We're ten minutes into the game, nearly eleventh minute. There's lots of space already on the field. Brazil have to come a little bit tighter, Ian. They can't be so expansive, from back to front. Otherwise? The Germans will cut them to shreds."

"That's a Sunday morning goal; it's certainly Sunday morning defending. Simple as you'd like, thank you very much! What a present!"

"Simple as you like. Look at this with the goal. Lovely ball in, Toni Kroos takes his time. Look at this for the pass. Have some of that. Intelligence of Muller. Julio Cesar does well, but Klose is there for the rebound. What a beautiful goal, simple. Running off the ball, incisive passes. Brazil have to watch out; they've already been warned. They're going to go down by a lot more if they continue like this. But, a wonderful achievement by Miroslav Klose."

"Yeah. Look at the space, Ian! Look at the space! Oh, great strike. But, look at this Ian. How bad is that? Simple, no? Ugh! Yes, he gets a bit lucky. That's a lovely strike by Toni Kroos. But is anybody going to close down? Is anybody going to be, make it hard to beat? Are they going to be organized, Brazil? Because at the moment it looks as if eleven players are just running around the field with no idea. Yeah."

"Again! Oh, what can you say? Fernandino, or is it Luiz Gustavo? Gets for? I think it's Fernandinho. But, what a lovely goal. Fernandinho. Yes it helps, when you're three-nil up. But, what a pass by Sami Khedira! Talk about mentally strong, cold as ice. Puts it on a proverbial plate for Toni Kroos to get his second of the game."

"Yeah, they're just too good. But also, this is the worst I've seen Brazil play and start a game. Yes they've started slow in other games, Ian. But, I've never seem them so disorganized. At least France in the quarter-final were nice and tight and compact to try to stop the Germans playing football. Brazil are just all over the place, so open."

"But, they need a goal or two double quick."

"We all fancied Germany today, we didn't think it was going to be this easy."

"Whenever they start defending. Mats Hummels brings the ball twenty yards, and then? I think it's David Luiz dives out of the challenge with him. You're four-nil down! Go and be aggressive and kick somebody! Go and do something to influence this game!"

"Well? I hope the people in the United States are sitting, enjoying this game. Because, they will never see a World Cup semi-final like this. For the rest of their lives. I am shell-shocked!"

"Well? You just repeat yourself all the time, don't you? Ian, how bad is it in this goal? Look, space. Who's picking Philipp Lahm up? Nobody, nobody. The crowd venting their anger, yet again."

"He looks happy to come on the field, six-nil down. Come on Willian, get on there! Score seven, make your country proud. Yeah, they will score again. Germany, won't they? They've got twenty minutes left. If they keep up? Yeah. Look, Marcelo looks as if he can? Can't run anymore. But, Germany will score again if they want. Look at that, I mean? It looks as if Brazil have got nine men on the field; it looks as if it's eleven against nine."

"Defensive displays, and this is just blowing it completely out the water. Nil, seven! I know! Thank? Thankfully, a couple of the people have scored a couple of times. So, they just put the number next to them. Otherwise, there's no space."

"Yeah. We're in a special place, Ian. We've seen some football matches in our time. But, I've never seen? Seen a game like this, or been in a spectacle like this. I'll remember this for the rest of my life. Yeah, yeah. You'd much rather see seven goals than a one-nil defensive display, wouldn't you? At least they're getting entertained."

"It's hard to decipher this game. It's been a very good German performance, but Ian? You cannot underestimate how bad Brazil have been today, it's like? It's like amateur hour watching them. But, their attitude has just been appalling. I know, I keep saying appalling. Because, I'm running out words. They've just given in. They've just completely given in, actually trying to run around and play football."

"But, their lack of effort today has just astounded me. It really has; you could just get ten people sitting around just to work harder than a lot of these players have worked today. Oh, yeah."

"Yeah. This game will be referred to many, many, many, many, years to come. Yes, we're talking about 1950 games now. This game, is going to like that. We will refer to this in fifty years time."

"Have just thrown in the towel; this towel was thrown in. Forty, fifty minutes ago. They're not even getting close to the ball."

"Please, do not adjust your television set."

"Men against boys, Ian. Isn't it?"

"How we started the game and how we're going to finish the game, are just extraordinary. Polar opposites."

"Ian, I think? This will definitely be the best World Cup we'll have ever seen. We're lucky, we're privileged."

"His fifth goal of this World Cup! Who picked him up? No one picked him up!"

"It's three, Toni Kroos! Brazil have fallen apart inside 25 minutes! Germany, three! Brazil, nil!"

"Fernandinho caught in possession! Brazil are being humiliated, humbled, and taken apart by Germany!"

"They could be in again here, Khedira...Ozil, Khedira - five nil! *FIVE* NIL. Absolute humiliation!"

"Eins, zwei, drei, vier, thumped."

"Schürrle, oh! André Schürrle, it's seven!"