Goals: Germany—Müller 12' (penalty), 45'+1, 78' Hummels 32'
Recap: Complete and utter domination saw Germany capture a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Portugal on Monday.
A Joao Pereira foul on Mario Götze, one that denied him of a clear goal-scoring opportunity, gave Germany the early lead. Pereira was fortunate to escape with just a yellow, but Portugal wasn't fortunate to enough to escape unscathed. Thomas Müller left little doubts with his penalty. Matt Hummels doubled the advantage with a thunderous header just 20 minutes later.
A Müller hat-trick sealed the 4-0 win.
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Key Moment: in the 37th minute, referee Milorad Mazic decided to continue the stirring controversies of the 2014 World Cup. Jostling led to an extended arm from Portugal's Pepe to the face of Thomas Müller. Much to the dismay of Pepe, Müller's theatrics found him on the ground. He was met with a subsequent head-butt. Surely, the instigated incident was malicious in intent, but a yellow from Mazic would've sufficed. The Serbian ref thought otherwise. Pepe was given his marching orders. Any chance of a Portuguese comeback dissipated after that.
Man of the Match: Not only did Müller polish off three chances, but his impersonation of a man being struck by the heavens was enough to get the better of Pepe.
Lesson Learned: Germany is as good as advertised. The team doesn't defend, they swarm. Any opportunity for a Portuguese counter-attack was quickly sniffed out and handled by the German midfield. Ghana and the United States should pose little, if any, threat. Advancement to the Round of 16 is all but secure.
Up Next: Germany travels to Fortaleza to face Ghana on June 21, while Portugal looks to rebound against the United States in Manaus on June 22.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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