Brazil vs Germany World Cup 2014 video: Mesut Ozil misses one-on-one chance to inflict further damage on Brazil... but at 7-0 up we'll let him off this time
Ozil put in his best showing at the World Cup so far as he had a hand in two of Germany's seven goals, but he won't want to see his late miss again
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Your support makes all the difference.As Andre Schurrle controlled a perfectly floated chip over the beleaguered Brazil defence to smash home the seventh goal in the 7-1 demolition, Germany completed their night’s work, having booked their place in the World Cup final about an hour previous to this thanks to five goals in 27 minutes.
But it could have been more, and unfortunately, it was Mesut Özil who missed a simple chance to extend Germany’s lead even further.
Substitute Julian Draxler put the Arsenal star through on goal, and while he beat goalkeeper Julio Cesar, he managed to beat the far post as his effort trickled wide of the goal. 24 seconds later, Oscar scored Brazil’s consolation and Germany lost their clean sheet.
But the 25-year-old can be excused for failing to add an eighth goal after he turned in his best performance since arriving in Brazil, and for that matter quite some time. The midfielder showed just how good he can be as he provided the impetus in the German attack, having a hand in the second and fifth goals for his side and demonstrating his full repertoire with perfectly timed passes and silky touches throughout.
He looked like the confident player that starred for Arsenal in the first half of last season, although it’s always a welcome bonus when you have team-mates with the quality of Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos on hand and your side scores five goals in 29 minutes.
Watch the miss below:
At least he didn’t have the pressure of running through on goal to score the match-winner, otherwise his team-mates might not have been as forgiving come the full-time whistle (although Manuel Neuer was less than impressed with the defending for the goal)
For Germany, the match represents one of, if not the most impressive showing at a World Cup, as they inflicted Brazil's heaviest ever defeat in the tournament's history as well as their first competitive home loss in 39 years after a 63 match run.
With Germany moving forward to Sunday's final against either Netherlands or Argentina, Brazil must recover,m and recover quickly. The squad will want the ground beneath them to swallow each of them up, but they still have the third-place play-off to compete in when they face the loser of tonight's semi-final in Brasilia on Saturday.
Should the Netherlands win, they would prevent Argentina a chance to win the World Cup in their rival's backyard, yet hand Lionel Messi and Co the opportunity to embarrass Brazil even further. All things considered, it's a lose-lose situation for the Selecao.
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