Gallery: World Cup

A Brazil fan held his country's flag at the Copacabana in Rio ahead of the match

And others did the same outside the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte

A few became life sized Panini stickers in the lead-up

It was all smiles in the stands ahead of the match

Some Germany fans even dyed their beautiful beards to show support

While others wore masks of the injured Brazil star Neymar

Things were set to get underway on a gorgeous day in Belo Horizonte

Brazil defender and captain Thiago Silva - who was forced to sit the match from one too many bookings - tried to motivate his team-mates just before kick-off

Yet, Germany struck first when forward Thomas Mueller scored on his side's first corner past Brazil defender David Luiz, who totally missed his mark on the play

Brazil keeper Julio Cesar couldn't grab the ball, which put Germany up 1-0 at just 11'

Germany celebrated their early lead, which no one could have predicted would spark a historic scoring spree on the hosts in yellow

Germany forward Miroslav Klose found a hole in the Brazilian defence at 23'

Klose celebrated widening his side's lead to 2-0 and becoming the World Cup's all-time leading scorer - a stat that almost got lost in the onslaught

Only a minute later, midfielder Toni Kroos added to the tally with one of his own

And only two minutes after that, Kroos got another one by Cesar, putting Germany up at an unbelievable score of 4-0

And, to finish out the scoring in the first half, Germany midfielder Sami Khedira embarrassed the Brazil defence with an uncontested shot at 29'

Germany huddled together to enjoy their sudden 5-0 lead over Brazil, who seemed dazed and shell-shocked at their historic meltdown

German fans watching in Rio were pleased to say the least

While Cesar looked dejected after having conceded five goals in the first 30' of play

Brazil's Oscar and Fred echoed their keeper's attitude as they prepared to kick off following Germany's fifth goal

And by the half-time break, the pre-match smiles on the faces of Brazil fans had been wiped away completely. Supporters could only hope that their side might get a couple back in the second, at the very least to preserve some shred of national pride

The Estádio Mineirão slipped into the sunset just as play resumed after the break

And Germany promptly continued their impressive rout. This time, it was forward Andre Schuerrle who found the back of the net at 69'

The tears continued to fall for Brazil fans, whose side was now down 6-0

And just 10 minutes later, Schuerrle did it again, making the score an unbelievable 7-0 with just ten minutes to play

Luiz - who seemed nothing more than a ghost haunting the pitch - looked on at the scene of Brazil's greatest nightmare

Brazil fans in Rio beckoned toward the screen hoping for something, anything to lessen their pain and shock

Brazil midfielder Oscar managed to score a consolation goal past Germany keeper Manuel Neuer at 90'

But - as forward Bernard knew well - there was no going back for the host nation, who lost their first competitive match on home soil since 1975

Brazil fans wept on the Copacabana

And Neymar could only look on as Germany handed Brazil their worst defeat of all time

Gallery: World Cup - Day 27

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