Germany
defender Mats Hummels has revealed his team made a joint decision at
half-time of their semi-final against Brazil to ease off and "try not to
humiliate" the World Cup hosts.
The Samba Kings produced a simply atrocious display in the first half Tuesday's semi-final to allow Joachim Low's men to storm into a 5-0 lead before the interval, with the Belo Horizonte encounter eventually ending 7-1 to Die Mannschaft.
And, according to Borussia Dortmund defender Hummels, the reason the Germans only added another two goals after the break, and not more, was due to the fact they had decided to take pity on the five-time world champions.
"We just made it clear that we had to stay focused and not try to humiliate them," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror.
"We said we had to stay serious and concentrate at half-time. That’s something you don't have to show on the pitch if you are playing.
"You have to show the opponent respect and it was very important that we did this and didn't try to show some magic or something like this. It was important we played our game for 90 minutes."
The Samba Kings produced a simply atrocious display in the first half Tuesday's semi-final to allow Joachim Low's men to storm into a 5-0 lead before the interval, with the Belo Horizonte encounter eventually ending 7-1 to Die Mannschaft.
And, according to Borussia Dortmund defender Hummels, the reason the Germans only added another two goals after the break, and not more, was due to the fact they had decided to take pity on the five-time world champions.
"We just made it clear that we had to stay focused and not try to humiliate them," he is quoted as saying by The Mirror.
"We said we had to stay serious and concentrate at half-time. That’s something you don't have to show on the pitch if you are playing.
"You have to show the opponent respect and it was very important that we did this and didn't try to show some magic or something like this. It was important we played our game for 90 minutes."