Lead by a Thomas Müller hat-trick, Germany blitzed Portugal 4-0 to get their World Cup off to an ideal start.
Germany struck first in the 12th minute when Thomas Müller scored on a perfectly taken penalty after João Pereira was called for a foul in the box.
The Germans doubled their lead in 32nd minute when 6’4 defender Mats Hummels headed in a well delivered corner kick from Toni Kroos.
As if being down 2-0 to the mighty Germany wasn’t bad enough, Portugal was shamed when Pepe was given a red card in the 37th minute for headbutting Müller after a play. Pepe thought Müller had taken a dive when the two were battling for the ball, and indeed he may have, but then Pepe started screaming in Müller’s face as he sat on the floor, and got so close their heads butted. Pepe was born in Brazil, but has played for the Portuguese national team since getting citizenship in 2007. The Real Madrid defender has a history of losing his temper; he reportedly kicked an opposing player back in 2009 according to a story by ESPN.
Though Portugal was down 2-0, they were playing a competitive game early on, putting together some impressive runs and looking threatening in attack. However, Portugal, who is ranked fourth in FIFA’s world rankings, was demoralized after the red card, and it was unrealistic to think they would get a result playing with 10 men.
Müller, who was the joint top goal scorer in the 2010 World Cup with five, looks poised to score more than that this time around. The Bayern Munich man scored his second of the game in the closing minutes of the first half to go up 3-0, ending any hope of a Portuguese comeback. He then completed the hat-trick in the 78th minute when Portugal’s goalkeeper Rui Patricio was unable to secure a shot, allowing Müller to tap in the rebound.
Portugal star, and arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, was kept quiet for most of the game, as was the German plan according to dailymail.co.u.
Ronaldo nearly got a consolation goal in stoppage time, but Germany’s exceptional goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, was able to keep out the well taken free kick.
The four goal defeat marked the worst ever for Portugal in the World Cup. They will need to figure things out before they face the U.S. on June 20.