Brazil v Germany (2014 FIFA World Cup)
The Brazil vs Germany football match (also known by its score as 7–1) that took place on 8 July 2014 at the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte was the first of two semi-final matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
"7-1" redirects here. For the calendar dates, see January 7 and July 1.Agony of Mineirão (Mineiraço)
Both Brazil and Germany reached the semi-finals with an undefeated record in the competition, with the Brazilians' quarter-final with Colombia causing them to lose forward Neymar to injury, and defender and captain Thiago Silva to accumulation of yellow cards. Despite the absence of these players, a close match was expected, given both teams performed comparably well throughout the tournament. Also, both were regarded as two of the biggest traditional FIFA World Cup forces, sharing eight tournaments won and having previously met in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final, where Brazil won 2–0 and earned their fifth title.
This match, however, ended in a historic loss for Brazil; in a massive show of dominance, Germany led 5–0 within 29 minutes, with four goals being scored inside a six-minute span, and subsequently brought the score up to 7–0 in the second half. Brazil scored a consolation goal through Oscar in the last minute, ending the match 7–1. Germany's Toni Kroos was selected as the man of the match.
The game marked several tournament records. Germany's win marked the largest margin of victory in a FIFA World Cup semi-final. The game saw Germany overtake Brazil as the highest-scoring team in World Cup tournament history and become the first team to reach eight World Cup Finals. Miroslav Klose scored his 16th career World Cup goal and surpassed Brazil's own Ronaldo as the tournament's all-time record goalscorer. Brazil's loss broke their 62-match unbeaten streak at home in competitive matches, going back to the 1975 Copa América (where they lost 3–1 to Peru in the same stadium), and equalled their biggest margin of defeat in a match alongside a 6–0 loss to Uruguay in 1920. It was also Brazil's worst margin of defeat in a World Cup match, with their previous worst loss in that category being their 3–0 loss to France in the 1998 final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris.
Ultimately, the match was described as a national humiliation. The game has subsequently been dubbed the Mineirazo ([minejˈɾasu]) in reference to the Mineirão stadium, evoking a previous "spirit of national shame" known as the Maracanaço in which Brazil unexpectedly lost in the de facto final of the 1950 FIFA World Cup on home soil to Uruguay. Brazil subsequently lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off, while Germany went on to win the World Cup for the fourth time, defeating Argentina in the final. This marked Germany’s fourth World Cup triumph, bringing them joint-second behind five-time winners Brazil.
Aftermath[edit]
As a result of being eliminated in the semi-finals, Brazil played in the third place game at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasília, and never got to play at their home stadium of the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro for the entire tournament despite being hosts. Brazil finished fourth after being defeated 3–0 in the third place play-off by the Netherlands on 12 July, where two of the three goals were conceded in the first 17 minutes.[96][97] The defeat meant that Brazil had conceded a total of 14 goals throughout the tournament, which was the most they had conceded in a single tournament, the most conceded by a World Cup host, and the most conceded by any team since Belgium allowed 15 during the 1986 tournament.[98] Germany went on to win the World Cup for the fourth time and the first as a unified nation, after defeating Argentina 1–0 in extra time in the Final on 13 July at the Maracanã.[99] Germany had the support of the Brazilian crowd despite having eliminated the home team, given Brazil has a long-standing football rivalry with neighbours Argentina.[21][100]
The two consecutive losses, Brazil's first consecutive home defeats since 1940,[101] led to coach Scolari's resignation on 15 July.[102] Two weeks later, the Brazilian Football Confederation brought back Dunga as head coach of the Brazil national team.[103] He had managed the team from 2006 until 2010, being dismissed following a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.[103] He was dismissed for a second time, however, following Brazil crashing out at the group stage of the Copa América Centenario in the United States two years later.[104]
The Brazil senior team did not play a match at the Estádio Mineirão again until a 3–0 win over Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in November 2016.[105]
Brazil and Germany's next meeting in a major tournament was two years later when their under-23 teams faced each other in the gold medal match of the 2016 Summer Olympics' men's tournament at the Maracanã as Rio de Janeiro hosted the Games. Both opposing coaches — Rogerio Micale for Brazil and Horst Hrubesch for Germany — downplayed the fact that the gold medal match was a rematch of the World Cup semifinal, but some fans viewed the Olympic final as a chance for revenge and redemption. Brazil won 5–4 on penalties to win their first Olympic football gold medal after the match finished 1–1 after both normal time and extra time, with Neymar scoring the winning penalty.[106] The next time Brazil and Germany faced each other again at senior level after the 2014 World Cup was a friendly at the Olympiastadion in Berlin in March 2018; Brazil won 1–0 on a first half goal from Gabriel Jesus.[107]
In Brazil, the result, "7–1" (Portuguese: sete a um), has become a metaphor for a devastating and crushing defeat, while "Goal for Germany" (Portuguese: gol da Alemanha) is used as an exclamation after a mishap.[108]