“While Brazilians still talk about 1950 with disappointment and horror, what transpired at the Belo Horizonte will bring nightmares to the South Americans for years to come. Aman Sardana analyses what happened, and what went wrong. The enormous pressure, the inflamed anticipation, one nation’s obsession and hysteria amassed on the shoulders of a fervent and useful but ultimately imperfect team. They snapped under the stress, no doubt, but there was more to this than just pressure, or flawed tactics and team choice, or incompetent positional play, or a first-rate German squad filled with incisive passers and composed finishers. It was all of those things, and yet more. A first-half goal barrage saw Die Mannschaft 5-0 up, Miroslav Klose procured his record-breaking 16th strike at the finals and the cruelty prolonged into the second period with Schürrle coming off the bench and bagging a brace. Mesut Özil missed a one-on-one to make it 8-0, moments before Oscar netted a consolatory hit in the final minute of the first semifinal of World Cup 2014. But as it was, in 30 obscene first-half minutes, the Brazilian dream was over. Outside of the Boot
