This Was Not What Brazil Expected

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

After getting blown out in the semi-finals by a far superior German side, the Netherlands got their pound of flesh in the third-place game with a 3-0 shut out for the bronze in Rio...

And you can bet that Scolari is SO done after this loss... Brazilian fans booed their home squad after the pitch...
Here's the highlights- if you're Dutch...


"Medals for Holland, Mockery for Brazil" indeed...

The HQ always enjoys Jon Champion...

Brazil Dismantled At Home By Germany, Scolari Apologizes

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

Five goals in 29 minutes... and, really, after the first goal Brazil's weaknesses were exposed. The absence of Neymar and Thiago Silva not being around on offense and the back line being caught repeatedly in transition and not being able to match Germany's offensive prowess created an awful result for Brazil.

A 7-1 loss that could have been worse if Ozil hadn't pulled up in the 90th minute.
Here's Ian and Macca


And analysis from Mike, Alexi, Gilberto, and Michael


The 7-1 loss equals their worst-ever defeat- 6-0 to Uruguay back in 1920.
And the HQ wouldn't be surprised is Scolari was asked to retire when all this is done.

But the best personification of the day came from Deadspin where Good Ol' JR called the goals- it's a must watch

And Scolari apologized in his post-match- from the London Telegraph newspaper article by Jeremy Wilson:

"Who is responsible when the team plays?" Scolari said. "I am. It's me. Who decided the tactics, I did. So the person responsible is me. If I were to think of my life as a player, as a coach, as a teacher, this was the worst day of my life. I'll be remembered probably because I lost 7-1, the worst defeat Brazil have ever had."

DEVELOPING: Neymar Out Of Rest Of World Cup

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

And you KNOW that the Argentinian futbol fans are going to want the head of the Colombian soccer squad after what went down in the 88th minute of Brazil's 2-1 win in the quarterfinals.


Juan Camilo Zuniga went high and the diagnosis is a broken vertebrae.

Now Brazil will not have Neymar or Thiago Silva for the Germany semi-final.

Brazil And Germany Through To The Semis

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

It was a day for chalk in the quarter-finals in Brazil...

Germany seemed like old Germany- suffocating on defense and relentless on offense in their 1-0 win over a confused France squad.
Mats Hummels' 13th-minute header was the difference


In the nightcap, host Brazil ended the run of Colombia with an early strike and a jaw dropping, top-spin free kick from David Silva


Two larger questions for the Selecao in the semis are around the lack of a Thiago Silva and the injury Neymar sustained late in the second half on a questionable challenge where one of the world's best took a high-speed knee to the middle of his back.

Julio Cesar also had a knee-to-knee contact in the box that led to his yellow card and subsequent PK goal by James, but his status seems more stable at present.

Suarez "Lost His Balance" Uruguay And Chile Lost Their Games

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

Luis Suarez wrote his appeal to FIFA for his four-month, nine-match ban. It said in part:

"After the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent," Suarez wrote in his submission to the panel which met Wednesday, one day after Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 in a decisive group-stage match.

"At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth."

Well okay, then...
FIFA has seven days to hear the appeal from the Uruguayan Football Federation.

Without Suarez, the lack of offense showed in a 2-0 loss where James Rodriguez scored both goals- and, for the record, it's pronounced "Hah-mez..." and he's scored in six straight matches for Colombia...

And James' golazo sent Colombia on their way


And Colombia get Brazil in the next round as they survived their match with Chile- and it took PK's to get there.
The post became Julio Cesar's bet friend in extra time and the shootout...

And American audiences got to hear Ian and Macca call a great one...

Brazil And Mexico Had A Staring Contest For 90 Minutes

And solved absolutely nothing:

Both keepers, Guillermo Ochoa (who had the game of a lifetime) and Julio Cesar parried everything and punched it all away for the match of the tournament in Brazil. And, yes, it proved that a goalless draw can be exciting...

And saves like this at the last kept it scoreless
((HT: Matt Clapp's Vine))


And, the HQ will reinforce that (no offense to the folks over at the four-letter) the only way to watch a game like mexico-Brazil is to watch our Spanish-speaking counterparts over at Univision.

Absolutely out of control...

Okay, So Brazil Didn't Lose... But It Was Interesting

((HT: ESPN/FIFA))

Here's the turning point in the Brazil-Croatia match and it was a HORRIBLE CALL!!!


Sufficed to say, the Croat coach decided to speak out...

"We better give it up now and go home," Niko Kovac said. "We talk about respect, Croatia didn't get any."

"If that was a penalty, we should be playing basketball," Kovac said. "Those kinds of fouls are penalised there.

"That is shameful, this is not a World Cup referee. He had one kind of criteria for them and another for us. The rules were not the same."

And there you go... FIFA is off and running...

And What Happens If Brazil Loses...???

((HT: FIFA/ESPN))

Well, first and foremost...

It would be Neymar to score the equalizer for the home country. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it got the job done...

Welcome back Ian and Macca


But, it took an odd turn in the first nine minutes with an own goal of all things off a deflection to give the Croats some hope in the tournament opener...


The goals are up until they get pulled, obviously...
But it was 1-1 at the break...