Germany 4 - Portugal 0

Photo by Phil Walter

Salvador was the site for the opening match in Group G between Germany and Portugal. Portugal were attacking the right side of the German defense from the opening whistle, with German right centerback Per Mertesacker unable to cope with the pace of Portuguese left winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo first created a shot for his center forward Hugo Almeida. Next time around, Ronaldo had a heavy shot on target, but Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was able to get his body in front of the ball. Portuguese centerback Pepe got his goalkeeper Rui Patricio (pictured, green) in severe trouble, and Patricio had to blindly hit a ball upfield. Sami Khedira intercepted the pass and first-timed a shot at the empty net, but he shot curled wide of frame. Portugal did not take advantage of their good fortune. Soon thereafter, Joao Pereira (pictured, red) was beaten inside his own box off the dribble Mario Gotze (pictured, white in background), so he had to take Gotze down to prevent a clean shot at goal. The result was a penalty kick that Germany converted for a 1-0 lead. The game's place slowed significantly. A quarter hour after the goal, Portugal had a chance when Nani hit an inside-out shot just over the crossbar. Mesut Ozil had sprinted behind the Portuguese defense on a through ball. He laid off for Gotze, but a tackle from Pereira sent the ball out for a corner kick. Toni Kroos put in a great cross, and German centerback Mats Hummels outjumped Pepe to power the header home for a 2-0 lead. Portugal were surprised by their own successful passing on a play with ten minutes left. Fabio Coentrao had beaten an offside trap and had the ball seven yards from goal, but he chose to forgo the shot and pass to a completely unaware Ronaldo. Pepe was shown a straight red in minute 37 for touching heads with a seated Thomas Muller (pictured, white #13) while accosting Muller for pretending to be hurt. The harsh punishment all but sealed Portugal's fate in this match. In stoppage time, Muller stole a clearance from Bruno Alves and then immediately shot and scored. Germany left the pitch ahead 3-0.

Five minutes into the half, Germany were still looking to add to their lead. Ozil was onside from a pass from Gotze, but Patricio made the save. Muller's header after the fact missed the open net. Things went from worse to worst for Portugal when the lost Coentrao to an injury. Nani was onside and in the box off a Ronaldo through ball, but Mertesacker blocked his shot to avert the danger for Germany. On the counteract, Andre Schurrle received a forty-yard pass from Muller and then played for Gotze in the box, only for Raul Meireles to block his shot at goal. Schurrle hit a ball across the face of goal. Patricio tried to parry the ball to safety from the ground but failed miserably. Muller finished his hat trick with a tap-in rebound to give Germany a four-goal advantage. In stoppage time, Ronaldo absolutely drilled a free kick on frame, but Neuer palmed the ball aside to preserve his clean sheet. Germany win 4-0 to leap enthusiastically atop Group G.

Goals
Germany
Thomas Muller 12 PK, 45+1, 78
Mats Hummels 32

Match Reports:
http://soccer.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/06/16/germany-portugal-world-cup-commentary-recap-ronaldo-group-g
http://www.espnfc.us/team/portugal/482/blog/post/1887846/brassell-portugal-must-regroupnot-panic

Highlights:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/videos/highlights/match=300186475/index.html