GERMANY 4-0 PORTUGAL
No one tell Portugal, but if they somehow manage to get back and claim second in this group, they'll have to return to Salvador for their Round of 16 match. The Arena Fonte Nova has been a nightmare for the Iberian peninsula as Portugal lost 4-0 to Germany, just 3 days after Spain fell 5-1 to Netherlands.
You could not have asked for a worse day for Portugal. Not only was it a humiliating scoreline and effort, but they lost central defender Pepe to a red card and likely Fabio Coentrao to a leg injury.
Portugal came out of the gate strong and it appeared the game could be an even contest. That didn't last long. A poor back pass and clearance by Rui Patricio gifted Sami Khedira with a chance at an open Portuguese goal. Far more time then he probably knew, Khedira's one-timer ended up curling just wide.
Minutes later, Germany picked up the first of their many goals. An obvious penalty as Mario Gotze was hauled down by Joao Pereira, Thomas Muller made no mistake in scoring the ensuing kick.
Nani nearly found an equalizer for Portugal when his outswinging shot curled just over the crossbar. It wouldn't be long until Germany doubled their lead as Mats Hummels rose above everyone on a corner kick to bury a header.
Play turned both weird and ugly for the remainder of the half. Germany failed to set an offside trap but fooled everyone and only Coentrao continued playing. His cross couldn't find Ronaldo who had stopped playing but was nearly an own goal from an equally confused Hummels. Down in the other end, Thomas Muller went down on an exaggerated foul by Pepe. Taking exception to the embellishment, Pepe headbutted Muller lightly on the ground and drew the straight red card and ejection.
Down a man, Portugal surrendered a 2nd to Muller before half and the game was effectively over at that point. Muller would pick up the hat trick on a tap-in in the second half.
Injuries will be a story going forward though. Hummels went down to a knee injury as did Hugo Almeida for Portugal. Coentrao's appeared the worse though. Stretchered off after lunging for a ball, Coentrao picked up what looked like a hamstring injury and his tournament may be in doubt.
Goals
Germany: Thomas Muller (12', 45+1', 78'), Mats Hummels (32')
Portugal: N/A
Discipline
Germany: N/A
Portugal: Joao Pereira (Yellow 11'), Pepe (Red 37')
Man of the Match
Something about the World Cup just clicks for Thomas Muller. The Golden Ball winner from 2010 added 3 more in this match and was the easy choice for MOTM. Strong conversion of the penalty for his first, and found himself in the right place on the 3rd one. The second was his best though to knock down the Bruno Alves clearance and one-time the next touch past Rui Patricio.
Key Moment
Already down 2-0, Pepe's red card was the end for Portugal. It was an ugly foul and while you understand Pepe's frustration, you can't headbutt a guy on the ground. Down to 10 men, and having already had to sub Almeida out to injury, Portugal had no hope of coming back from this.
What we learned from Germany
Beating a top-ranked team in the world should never look so easy. All Germany from start to finish, this was a perfect opening for them. Looked calm and composed in defence even with Lahm playing in the midfield, had free movement of the ball throughout the pitch and no concerns about scoring even without a true striker. Germany should have things relatively easy through the rest of the group stage at least.
What we learned from Portugal
Like Spain, we won't know if this was an aberration or not until their next game against the USA. They looked bad though and the lack of effort was probably most concerning. Players were giving up on balls, throwing up their hands in frustration and screaming at the ref while German players were running past them. When Portugal wants to play well they can but they have to find some heart and intensity before their next match or they'll get buried in this group.
Going Forward
All smiles for German fans. Tough group but they made this one look easy and shouldn't face a much stiffer test against US or Ghana.
For Portugal who knows? They're without Pepe (and maybe Almeida/Coentrao) for the US but they can turn it on at any given point. Only time will tell how damaging this blowout was for them.
