GERMANY IN 7TH HEAVEN WITH BRAZIL LEFT HUMILIATED

D. Ray Morton, 9th July 2014.

David Luiz turns on the waterworks after the worst game of his life. Paris St-Germain must be very concerned about having just spent €63m for his services

When making their pre-match predictions for the Brazil vs. Germany semi-final yesterday evening, people talked of Brazil's lack of creativity due to the missing Neymar. The concensus was that Germany would sniff out a narrow victory in a cagey match. The absence of centre-back and captain, Thiago Silva, was something of an afterthought. With Bayern Munich's Dante expected to replace him, it would be fine, they thought, and the main problem would be finding that spark in attack. Luiz Felipe Scolari must have been of the same school of thought and slapped the captain's armband on David Luiz allowing him to have command at the back. What a mistake that turned out to be.

Germany absolutely annihilated the Brazilians in Belo Horizonte, a place-name that will now seem like Hiroshima to native Brazilians. Thomas Müller opened the scoring with easiest of tap-ins from a corner with marking which would have driven a Sunday league manager insane. Bad start.

What happened between the 23rd and 29th minutes of that first half was scarcely believable. Even writing about it now, after the dust has settled, it still seems surreal. The Germans absolutely steamrollered a Brazilian side that had completely lost their discipline. They collapsed quicker than the Twin Towers. Miroslav Klose scored in the 23rd minute, his 16th all-time World Cup goal which saw him beat Ronaldo's record. Now Brazil more than just wilted. They lost the plot entirely. The cheese had slipped off the cracker. Toni Kroos netted two more goals before writers doing their play-by-play reports could catch their breath. Sami Khedira scored another. It was 5-0 and they had not played even half an hour.

Jaws dropped in the stands and the TV cameras flashed towards bawling Brazilian fans suffering a humiliation so great that it made their 1950 World Cup collapse to Uruguay seem like nothing. This was utter, complete devastation. The second half played out like something of a practice match. Manuel Neuer even had to make some decent saves but Brazil were playing like lost souls scattered around the Estádio Mineirão weighted by a sense of doom. As André Schürrle entered the fray, you could tell he was the type of player who would add more damage. Duly he did, scoring in the 69th and 79th minutes, the second goal quite stunning, Brazil left in tatters. Oscar's last minute rebuttal was like giving anaesthetic to someone who had just been put through a meat grinder.

This vile sea creature may be taking his vengeance on mankind after most of the world smirked gleefully at Brazil's demise

How did it all go so wrong? It cannot be blamed on David Luiz alone although he had a true nightmare, the worst game he will ever likely play. Collectively, as soon as the first goal went in, the heads dropped. This has been a strange World Cup for Brazil. Playing in front of their home crowd, the expectation has been massive. Players have routinely shed tears during the playing of the national anthem. Their psychological state bordered on somewhere between fanaticism and obsession. It was too volatile a cocktail without the calming presence of Thiago Silva around to essentially babysit a defence that did not have the bottle for a match of this magnitude.

It is something of a shame that Germany will not even be credited that highly for this unique semi-final triumph. Never has a team enjoyed such a resounding victory at this stage of the World Cup. Though Joachim Löw's side will go up in peoples' estimation, I still do not see them as a team that will tear apart either Argentina or the Netherlands in the final. Indeed, that second semi-final will probably be a world away from what we witnessed last night though making predictions at this stage of an insane World Cup is crazy business.

BRAZIL HAVE A DATE WITH GERMANY BUT AT WHAT COST?

D. Ray Morton, 5th July 2014.

Neymar in agony after being smashed in the lower back by Colombia's Zúñiga

World Cup hosts Brazil defeated Colombia 2-1 in their quarter-final bout last night thanks to a goal each from their centre-backs, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. Luiz's goal was a thing of a beauty, a rocket free-kick from distance but their victory will be overshadowed by the loss of the aforementioned Silva, the captain booked picking up a suspension, and notably Neymar, Brazil's superstar out through injury. They managed to dispatch the Colombians, who many people had fancied, but at quite the cost.

Neymar's injury was a cruel one. Opposition wing-back Juan Camilo Zúñiga smashed the fleet-footed Brazilian into the lower back with a driving knee. Zúñiga may not have been attempting to injure Neymar but he certainly meant to hurt him and his message was duly delivered. The diagnosis is a damaged vertebra with a minimum of a six-week lay-off expected.

They take on the Germans in the semi-final with essentially their two best players missing. Thiago Silva is a vital part of their defence and keeps the often positionally naïve David Luiz in check. All their creativity comes through Neymar and his replacement, whether it be Willian or Bernard, will feel the pressure of having to fill his boots. All of a sudden, Brazil do not seem as threatening any more and Germany can only be delighted at the convenience of all this.

David Luiz, a man obsessed?

RTÉ's Eamon Dunphy described David Luiz's body language as a man "obsessed" after scoring his goal but in all fairness, Luiz deserves praise for what was a genuinely stunning goal, maybe the most spectacular free-kick in World Cup history. Brazil beat a very physical Colombian side and though many have complained about their style of play, it is time to give them some bit of respect now. Colombia had actually been the only consistently impressive team in this tournament, Brazil beat them so what more do people want? It's not as if any of the other remaining teams in the competition have enthralled us. The Dutch had their big win against Spain but have played negatively since. Argentina are a one man team and Belgium have failed to excite despite defending very well.

Next come Germany who put away France in probably the dullest game of the knockout stages so far. Mats Hummels scored the only goal of the game early on and the Germans simply sucked the life out of Didier Deschamps' side to secure a boring-but-effective 1-0 win. Philipp Lahm looked good back in his right full-back position but there is still something of a striker dilemma with Miroslav Klose failing to impress. Perhaps André Schürrle will win a starting spot for the semi-final allowing Thomas Müller to play up front.

Tonight's matches are Argentina vs. Belgium (kick-off at 5pm GMT) and the Netherlands vs. Costa Rica (kick-off 9pm GMT) with the Argentines and Dutch expected to go through. Belgium will provide Messi and co. with a tough challenge, however, though it is hard to see the game underdogs of Costa Rica shocking Louis van Gaal and his troops.

GOMEZ SNUBBED BY LOW FOR GERMANY'S PROVISIONAL WORLD CUP SQUAD

D. Ray Morton, 8th May 2014.

Once Germany's first-choice striker, injuries and a move to Serie A have resulted in losing his place

Germany manager Joachim Low named his 30-man provisional World Cup squad today with the notable exclusion of Fiorentina target man Mario Gomez. The selection of thirty will be reduced to twenty-three for the final tournament. Here are the thirty players who will be considered for the final squad:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussian Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover)

Zieler has made the squad on merit, not on reputation or high profile transfer speculation

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund).

Hummels can be a vital at the World Cup but must prove his development has not stalled

Midfielders: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Leon Goretzka (Schalke), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Andre Hahn (Augsburg), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Max Meyer (Schalke), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea).

Ozil has had an up-and-down season at Arsenal and will need to rediscover his top form if Germany are to excel

Strikers: Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal).

Here at SoccerStash, we have discussed why we don't feel Germany will win the World Cup before; a combination of big game anxiety, squad deficiencies and lack of a top striker and leaving Mario Gomez out only compounds this notion further. Of the entire thirty men listed, only veteran Miroslav Klose can be identified as a proper, out-and-out front man.

Looking at it from top to bottom, the goalkeeper selection makes sense. Marc Andre Ter-Stegen, who has been heavily linked to a move to Barcelona throughout the season, will feel disappointed not to be amongst the three chosen. Perhaps his form doesn't warrant a place and maybe the Camp Nou outfit will approach a more accomplished keeper despite his supposed comfort on the ball and his ability to play as a "keeper sweeper" in the same vein as the out-going Victor Valdes.

The error last summer that waved a red flag over Ter Stegen's credentials as an international-class goalkeeper

Sami Khedira is a surprise inclusion in that his season and World Cup looked dead and buried after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament earlier on in the season. When fit, Khedira is a reliable midfield destroyer, a vital player who sits as the rest of the midfield bombs forward with quick counter attacks. His place in the thirty might only mean an assessment of his condition and he may not necessarily make the final squad.

Khedira blowing out his knee last year but could yet recover in time for Brazil

Several inexperienced players at international level are included: Erik Durm, Shkodran Mustafi, Matthias Ginter, Leon Goretzka and Max Meyer. They have been included in the provisional panel in order to get a feel for the national team, priming them for the EURO 2016 qualification process more than likely.

But with Gomez out and Klose as the only true No. 9, how will Germany approach this World Cup tactically? Do they intend to start the 35 year-old (who'll be 36 on June 9th) and play him throughout the tournament or perhaps they'll experiment by fielding an attacking midfield or a winger in the oh-so-hip "false 9" role? Bayern Munich dabbled with the idea of using Mario Gotze like that earlier in the season but Pep Guardiola decided to abandon the experiment when he figured Gotze's finishing was not up to the same standard as the ultimate false 9, Lionel Messi.

Gotze, a fine No. 10 but as a "false 9", Messi he is not

Low's selection has the element of surprise about it. Either that or confusion. Does he knows his best team and how will their group opponents, Portugal, Ghana and the United States fare against them? World Cup Group G should be very interesting.