A Brazil soccer fan walks in the rain after watching a broadcast of their team's loss against Germany in their 2014 World Cup semi-final match, in Rio de Janeiro July 8, 2014.
A Brazil soccer fan walks in the rain after watching a broadcast of their team's loss against Germany in their 2014 World Cup semi-final match, in Rio de Janeiro July 8, 2014. REUTERS

“Can 70,000 be silenced?” asked the commentator during the coverage of the Brazil-Germany semi-final of the 2014 World Cup referring to the expectedly loud Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.

The Germans answered with a resounding yes as early as the 29th minute of the match when they led, 5-0.

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Die Mannschaft eventually defeated hosts Selecao, 7-1 and the huge margin of victory is not only the biggest in this year’s tournament but it also shattered other records in World Cup history.

1. Broke the Record for Brazil’s Worst Defeat Ever

Brazil lost 1-3 in three occasions—1934 vs. Spain, and twice in 1966 vs. Hungary and Portugal in the group stages. Their previous worst loss came in the 1998 World Cup against hosts France, which blanked them in the final, 3-0.

The 7-1 defeat to the Germans is now the worst ever for Brazil matching their 0-6 loss to Uruguay in the 1920 Copa America—not as bad as the one in 2014 considering the stakes.

2. Broke the Record for a Host Nation’s Worst Defeat Ever

Previous record was at 3 goals set 3 times before; Uruguay 3-0 over South Africa (group stage) in the 2010 World Cup; Italy 4-1 over Mexico (quarter-final) in the 1970 World Cup and Brazil 5-2 over Sweden (final) in the 1958 World Cup.

3. Broke the Record for Biggest Win, Highest Number of Goals in a Semi-Final of a World Cup

Germany’s six-goal win established the biggest margin of victory in any semi-final match in the World Cup previously held in 6-1 victories by Argentina (over USA) and Uruguay (over Yugoslavia) in the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay; and West Germany (over Austria) in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

The Germans’ seven-goal total is also the highest in any semi-final match.

4. Broke the Record for Most World Cup Goals by an Individual

Miroslav Klose’s strike in the 23rd minute upped his World Cup finals total to 16 goals. In his fourth (and likely, last) World Cup appearance (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014), the 36-year-old striker has played in 23 matches averaging 0.70 goals per game.

For the irony, he broke the previous record of Brazilian Ronaldo, who has a total of 15 goals scored.

5. Broke the Record for Most World Cup Goals by a Country

Thanks to the efforts of Thomas Muller (11’), Klose (23’), Toni Kroos (24’, 26’), Sami Khedira (29’) in the first half, Germany passed Brazil (220 goals) in the all-time top scoring nation list before the break with 121 goals. The Germans did in style too; they scored four goals in a span of six minutes!

Of course, the they weren’t done as they added two more courtesy of Andre Schurrle (69’, 79’) in the second half.

The Germans are now at 223 goals—with a game left to play against either Netherlands or Argentina.

6. Broke the Record for Most World Cup Final Appearances

Germany made the final in World Cups in 1954 Switzerland, 1966 England, 1974 West Germany, 1982 Spain, 1986 Mexico, 1990 Italy, 2002 Korea/Japan and now in 2014 Brazil for a total of 8 WC Final appearances.

As irony would have it again, they broke the tie with Brazil, which has seven WC Final appearances.

7. Broke the Heart of an Entire Country

Estimated Brazilian population: 200 million.

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