Mineirazo: The Night Germany Put Seven Past Brazil

Brazil had one job at the 2014 World Cup: win it at home and finally put 1950 to rest. On July 8, in a semifinal in Belo Horizonte, they got a new ghost instead. It took Germany 29 minutes to build it and about six of those minutes to do most of the work.

The Weight They Carried

Every Brazilian kid grows up hearing about 1950. Brazil hosted that World Cup, needed only a draw against Uruguay at the Maracanã in the deciding match, and lost 2-1. The country gave the defeat a name, the Maracanazo, and never really stopped talking about it.

So 2014 was supposed to be the correction. Home soil, five stars on the shirt, Luiz Felipe Scolari back on the bench twelve years after he had won the whole thing in 2002. The hosts got to the semifinals, beating Colombia in the quarters. That win cost them twice.

Neymar, the face of the team and the tournament, took a knee to the back late in that game and came off with a fractured vertebra. His World Cup was over. Captain Thiago Silva picked up a yellow card in the same match, his second of the tournament, which meant a suspension for the semifinal.

Brazil lined up against Germany without their best attacker and their defensive leader. Dante came in at center back. Bernard took Neymar's spot. During the anthem, David Luiz and goalkeeper Júlio César held up Neymar's No. 10 shirt. The crowd at the Mineirão sang like it would carry them.

It did not.

Six Minutes

Thomas Müller opened the scoring in the 11th minute, left unmarked from a Toni Kroos corner. One goal down is survivable. Brazil had come from behind before.

Then the floor gave way. Miroslav Klose scored in the 23rd minute, following up after Júlio César stopped his first effort. Kroos scored in the 24th. Kroos scored again in the 26th, barely a minute after his first. Sami Khedira scored in the 29th.

That is four goals in about six minutes. Germany led 5-0 before the half-hour mark. The broadcast kept cutting to fans in yellow shirts, some in tears, some just staring at the field like they were waiting for someone to explain it.

Nobody had a plan for this. Brazil went in that night with a home crowd, a famous shirt and a country behind them. A scoreline like this was not on anyone's list of outcomes.

Klose Takes the Record

Lost in the wreckage was a piece of history. Klose's goal was his 16th at World Cups, taking him past the Brazilian striker Ronaldo for the all-time record.

Klose was 36 and playing in his fourth World Cup. He had scored five in 2002, five more in 2006, four in 2010 and now two in 2014. He broke a Brazilian's record in Brazil, against Brazil, in a semifinal. Some records arrive quietly. This one walked in and kicked the door off.

The Second Half Nobody Wanted

Germany eased off after the break, and it did not matter. André Schürrle came off the bench and scored twice, in the 69th and 79th minutes. By then the crowd had turned, and it was jeering its own players.

Oscar pulled one back in the 90th minute. It is the most famous consolation goal in World Cup history, and almost nobody remembers it.

Final: Germany 7, Brazil 1. It was the heaviest defeat in Brazil's World Cup history and the largest winning margin in any World Cup semifinal. It was also Brazil's first competitive defeat at home since 1975. David Luiz, captain for the night, cried through his postgame interview and apologized to the country.

The match got a name almost immediately: the Mineirazo, after the stadium, an echo of the defeat that had haunted Brazil for 64 years.

What Came After

Germany finished the job five days later at the Maracanã, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time on a Mario Götze volley for their fourth World Cup. The semifinal had made them look unbeatable. The final reminded everybody it was still soccer.

Brazil lost the third-place match to the Netherlands 3-0. Scolari was gone soon after. Brazil had wanted 2014 to close the book on 1950. Instead, the two defeats now sit on the same shelf.

Say "seven-one" in a bar in Belo Horizonte and nobody asks which game you mean.