Germany destroys Brazil in 7-1 match

Brazil's bid to win a record sixth World Cup ended, after the host country suffered a 7-1 loss to Germany in the soccer semifinal.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Germany won the most lopsided World Cup semifinal game in history, which was also the worst defeat in Brazilian history, and the biggest loss for a tournament host ever. The near rout ended Brazil's run of 63 undefeated home matches, a record that went back to 1975.

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"There were 10 minutes when I don't know what happened," said Brazil defender Marcelo to reporters after the July 8 game. "Today was the worst day of our lives. The Brazilian people have every right to criticize us."

David Luiz, who was the team's captain in place of the suspended Thiago Silva told reporters that "It's very difficult to explain right now. The dream is over in a way that the people didn't want."

Surprisingly this wasn't the German team's biggest win in the World Cup. In the 2002 tournament, they defeated Saudi Arabia 8-0 before losing it 2-0 to Brazil.

"It's a catastrophe," said Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "It's the worst loss of a Brazil national team, yes, but we have to learn how to deal with this."

This game set a personal record for Germany's Miroslay Klose, whose goal 20 minutes in made him the career scoring leader in the World Cup.

"This kind of match maybe only happens once in a career," he said. "What's important is we stayed in control of the match. I imagine the Brazilians lost motivation [after falling behind]."

Germany now advances to an eighth World Cup final, and will play the winner between Argentina and the Netherlands who play on July 9. That match will be held in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium on July 13.

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