BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP):

With Neymar out injured, just about everyone in Brazil knew it would be tough against Germany.

Nobody ever expected this.

The Germans tore apart Brazil's porous defence time and time again yesterday, routing the hosts 7-1 in the World Cup semi-finals, the largest margin of defeat at this stage in the history of the tournament.

Brazil were playing without Neymar, the team's key player and the poster boy for the World Cup. He scored four goals in the group stage, but Brazil's attack seemed to get weaker and weaker as the tournament progressed. The Barcelona striker was ruled out of the tournament with an injury after getting kneed in the back in the quarter-final win over Colombia, weakening the sputtering attack even more.

With Neymar sidelined and captain Thiago Silva suspended, the collective hopes of a nation remained high even if expectations were lowered.

The atmosphere at the start of the match was spine-tingling, but the euphoria of the yellow-shirted thousands soon turned to tears as the Germans scored five goals in the first 30 minutes - four of them in a seven-minute span.

The loss matched Brazil's most lopsided defeat ever, and it's the first time the team has lost in an official competitive match on home soil since 1975, when Peru won 3-1 at the very same stadium in the Copa America. Their last loss at home came in a friendly with Paraguay in 2002.

biggest World Cup loss

Previously, Brazil's biggest World Cup loss was 3-0 to France in the 1998 final. In the 1920 South American championship, the predecessor of the Copa America, Brazil lost 6-0 to Uruguay.

"The responsibility for this catastrophic result is mine," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "I was in charge."

It was Germany's biggest World Cup win since routing Saudi Arabia 8-0 in a group match in 2002.

Yesterday with Bernard playing as the third striker in the place of Neymar, Brazil attacked from the start. But they failed to get any solid chances, and it wasn't long before the Germans opened up the defence and started the rout.

Toni Kroos and André Schürrle scored two goals each, while Miroslav Klose, Thomas Mueller and Sami Khedira added the others.

Oscar pulled a late goal back for Brazil.

Kroos scored his first goal in the 25th minute, knocking in a cross from Philipp Lahm that bypassed Mueller in the middle. He made it 4-0 a minute later, beating Cesar after a defensive mistake from Fernandinho left the ball on the feet of Khedira.

Mueller scored the first goal, one-timing a corner from Kroos past Cesar in the 11th minute. Klose scored his record 16th World Cup goal in the 23rd minute to make it 2-0. Khedira made it 5-0 in the 29th, taking a pass from Mesut Ozil and again beating Cesar.

Schürrle, who came on for Klose in the 58th minute, scored from a cross by Lahm in the 69th, and then knocked a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net in the 79th.

It's the first time Brazil had allowed five goals in a World Cup match since the 1938 tournament in France, when the team beat Poland 6-5 in extra time.

Some residents of Wildman Street, downtown Kingston, were seen burning a Brazilian flag yesterday, following the host country's 7-1 World Cup semi-final loss to Germany. - Jermaine Barnaby photos

Christian Haddad (forefront), Kyle Haddad (centre) and Joshua Shirley (right) were caught in a jubilant mood following a Germany goal against Brazil in the World Cup semi-final yesterday. The boys watched the match inside the Sportsmax Zone at the Chinese Benevolent Association yesterday. Germany won 7-1.

Darren Chin (left) and Mike Hylton celebrate a goal scored by Germany against Brazil at a live telecast of the World Cup semi-final game at the Sportsmax Zone, Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium, yesterday.