The referee’s final whistle ended a day of humiliation for Brazil soccer as the World Cup hosts went down 7-1 to Germany.
Brazil’s World Cup dream was smashed into oblivion as majestic Germany ran riot to win an extraordinary semi-final, equalling the South American hosts’ worst loss in their footballing history.
Sixty-four years after Brazil was plunged into national mourning after their loss in the 1950 final, the hosts were torn apart in a defeat likely to be every bit as traumatic as the fabled “Maracanazo.”
Germany advanced to Sunday’s (Monday AEST) final in the Maracana after a brilliant first half blitz which included a burst of four goals in six devastating minutes.
Thomas Mueller opened the scoring on 11 minutes, punishing poor Brazilian marking at a corner to make it 1-0.
Brazil, badly missing suspended captain Thiago Silva, tried to regroup but there was no respite.
Miroslav Klose’s cool finish on 23 minutes – which made him the World Cup’s all-time top-scorer with 16 goals – was the cue for the floodgates to open.
Toni Kroos struck twice in the 24th and 26th minutes to make it 4-0 and then Sami Khedira rounded off another clinical move to make it 5-0 on 29 minutes.
Dead and buried inside half an hour, the crowd at the Mineirao Stadium was stunned into silence.
Many fans burst into tears as they struggled to comprehend the enormity of what had taken place.
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After the fifth goal, well before half-time, hundreds of people left their expensive seats.
A section of the crowd chanted sexually-expletive obscenities against the team and President Dilma Rousseff, who up to now had enjoyed a reprieve from protests over the record $US11 billion ($A11.90 billion) spent to host the tournament.
Across the nation, others fans shouted at their televisions and abandoned public screenings.
Though Brazil rallied at the start of the second half, the torture continued on 69 minutes when Andre Schuerrle swept in Germany’s sixth.
This time boos rang out around the Mineirao as the Germans celebrated.
Schuerrle then grabbed his second on 79 minutes to make it 7-0.
The previous record loss had been a 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920.
Schuerlle’s second goal was greeted by a burst of applause as Brazilian fans saluted Germany’s wonderful exhibition of attacking football.
A late goal from Oscar was barely applauded by the Mineirao Stadium crowd.
Brazil had gone into the match riding a fervent wave of national emotion, determined to clinch a place in the final to honour injured striker Neymar.
The crowd roared chants of “Neymar, Neymar” just before kick-off, following a spine-tingling rendition of the national anthem that saw captain David Luiz proudly holding up the injured striker’s No.9 shirt.
But Mueller’s early strike punctured the fervent mood, and when the goals started flying in after Klose made it 2-0 there was no way back for Brazil.
Germany will now play the winner of Wednesday’s (Thursday AEST) semi-final between the Netherlands and Argentina in the final.
Argentina and Holland will carry competing motivations into Wednesday’s tantalising World Cup semi-final showdown at Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena.
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Argentina, who last reached the final in 1990, will be determined to pay appropriate homage to former great Alfredo Di Stefano, who died on Monday aged 88, while arch rivals Brazil could by then be awaiting in the final.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, are eager to prove they are finally ready to claim football’s greatest prize after agonising final defeats in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
“The semi-finals are fantastic, but we know what it feels like to lose a World Cup, and we would love to win,” Dutch utility man Dirk Kuyt told FIFA.com.
“Argentina are a world-class team and they deserve to be in the last four. But we want to measure ourselves against the best, and not only measure, but win. That’s why we’re here.”
The second of Holland’s final losses came at the hands of Argentina, who won 3-1 as hosts at a Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.
It is, however, the only time in eight encounters that they have beaten Holland, who memorably won a 1998 World Cup quarter-final in Marseille thanks to a majestic last-minute goal by Dennis Bergkamp.
Di Stefano never graced a World Cup, either for Argentina or his adopted Spain, but on Wednesday another Argentine great embraced by the Spanish can tighten his grip on this year’s tournament.
Messi met with quarter-final heartbreak at his first two World Cups, but in Brazil the Barcelona superstar has played with a decisiveness that suggests he may be about to definitively make his mark on the game’s biggest stage.
Dutch dangerman Robben is in similarly scintillating form, but for all the stars on show, the game will also be a painstakingly prepared tactical battle.
Holland needed penalties to see off Costa Rica in the last eight and as the panache that saw them crush Spain 5-1 in their opening game begins to ebb, it is their coach who has taken centre-stage.
Louis van Gaal was heralded for a decisive tactical switch against Mexico and then pulled off a masterstroke against Costa Rica by sending on reserve goalkeeper Tim Krul, who saved two penalties in the shootout.
The future Manchester United manager has played with a three-man defence in three of Holland’s five games to date and his innovations mean that his team-sheet will be awaited with great anticipation.
One name unlikely to feature, however, is centre-back Ron Vlaar, who is a serious doubt due to a knee injury.
Joel Veltman is in line to come into central defence alongside Bruno Martins Indi and Stefan de Vrij, unless Van Gaal opts for a back four.
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, whose side beat Belgium 1-0 in the quarter-finals, is without influential midfielder Angel Di Maria due to injury, but left-back Marcos Rojo is available again after suspension.
Gonzalo Higuain’s goal against Belgium showed that Argentina are not entirely dependent on Messi, but midfielder Javier Mascherano has warned his side that they face an evening of knife-edge tension on Wednesday.
“We know that we are going to play against a team that is at its best when playing on the counter-attack, because of the pace they have in attack,” said the Barcelona player.
“We need to make sure we don’t lose the ball unnecessarily. Concentration will be key, along with the way we set our stall out in the match, and we will need to be patient when it comes to making decisions.”
