Germany, Brazil among recent shocking results at FIFA World Cup™

When Brazil and Germany met at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, it was expected to be a battle between a strong home side and a talented title contender, what followed instead was one of the more shocking results we’ve seen in recent World Cup competition.
 

Germany v. Brazil 2014 World Cup

There have been bad performances by World Cup hosts and there have been unexpected blowouts, but the two have never intersected quite like they did in the semifinal of the 2014 World Cup between Germany and Brazil.

The partisan crowd at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte were in a frenzy and prepared for a spectacle, but they were not ready for what came next.

After a fast-paced opening that saw chances at either end, Germany won their first corner and Thomas Müller got on the end of a ball that swung past almost every player on the pitch to open the scoring in the 11th minute.

The second goal was significant both for the run of play and for the history of the tournament as Miroslav Klose doubled the Germany lead with the 16th goal of his World Cup career, surpassing Ronaldo who potted 15 for Brazil from 1994-2006, for first all-time.

The contest effectively ended when Toni Kroos slammed one home from the top of the box to make the score 3-0 and then followed that up two minutes later, cleaning up a rebound to increase the advantage to 4-0.

As the broadcaster began to cut to distraught Brazilian fans around the stadium, the reality of the situation began to set it, the home side was going out of the tournament in spectacular fashion.

The only question is how bad would it get?

The answer came three minutes later when Sami Khedira turned a lopsided game into a historic blowout by increasing the German lead to five with little to no resistance from a now thoroughly dejected Brazilian defence.

The run of play and the fortunes of the host nation did not change in the second half as Andre Schurrle entered the action for Germany in the 59th minute and, 10 minutes later, got his name on the score sheet.

At this point in the action, it wasn’t taking much for Germany to generate quality scoring chances, but that didn’t stop Schurrle for putting the finishing touches on the beating in style, banging a laser beam off the crossbar and in for a 7-0 lead.

Oscar pulled one back for Brazil right at the end of the game, but the humiliation of the night had been settled well before halftime of this one-sided contest. 

Netherlands v. Spain 2014 World Cup

What a period it was for Spanish soccer - after ending a long drought for their national team in major tournaments by capturing the 2008 European championship, Spain earned victories at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, one of the most successful runs in football history.

They entered the 2014 World Cup with high expectations and a tough opening match against the Netherlands.

Things came to a fast start when Spanish striker Diego Costa was pulled down in the box in the 26th minute and Xabi Alonso stepped up to make it 1-0 for the defending champions.

They wouldn’t score again until their final group match, a dead-rubber game against Australia.

The Oranje, on the other hand, were just getting started.

Robin van Persie’s highlight-reel diving header goal on a letter-perfect pass from the midfield line by Daley Blind began a procession of one-way traffic for the Dutch side.

Van Persie would add a second, Arjen Robben would count twice and Stefan de Vrij would also score as Spain’s title defence took a 5-1 dent at the hands of the Netherlands.

Ghana v. Czech Republic 2006 

Czech Republic entered the 2006 World Cup as FIFA’s second-ranked team and after an opening 3-0 victory over the United States, looked poised to win their second game against Ghana and earn their place in the knockout round.

What ensued was a dominating performance, only it was the African side that prevailed, changing the course of both teams at the tournament in Germany.

With just over a minute played, Asamoah Gyan collected a ball at the top of the box and fired Ghana into the lead.

Czech Republic fortunes would take a further hit when Tomas Ujfalusi was sent off for fouling Matthew Amoah in the box in the 65th minute, but Gyan failed to convert from the spot.

The game would be put on ice by Sulley Muntari in the 82nd minute, when he whipped one past Petr Cech for the 2-0 victory.

The loss forced the Czech Republic into a do-or-die situation against Italy where they would fall again by the same scoreline, ending their time at the 2006 World Cup.

Ghana, meanwhile, defeated the United States 2-1 in their final match to earn a Round of 16 date with Brazil.

Senegal v. France 2002

With the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European championship in their back pocket, France was poised to dominate the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea.

Senegal, on the other hand, were making their World Cup debut and drawn into a group with the defending champions, slated to play in the marquee opening game at Sangam Stadium in Seoul.

A laundry list of some of the greats of the game were on the pitch for France with Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and Marcel Desailly were all named in the starting 11.  

Zinedine Zidane was hurt in a pre-tournament friendly against South Korea and forced to miss the first two games of the 2002 competition.

Despite all of the greats on the pitch for France, it would be Papa Bouba Diop who would score the game’s only marker, as his 30th-minute goalmouth scramble goal would be the decider in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

France would crash out of the tournament without scoring a single goal, while the African debutants would advance into the knockout stage where they would eventually be eliminated in the quarterfinals by Turkey.