​What’s up, internet folks? You may have heard that the World Cup is almost here, and over at BFW we’re cooking up a focused series on Germany in the run-up to the tournament. Teddy is already putting together a list of the top 10 goals Germany has scored in World Cup history, and I pitched a bookend idea: let’s relive Germany’s greatest World Cup victories. So here I am, presenting my personal top 10 Germany wins at the World Cup.
For this list, I’m including matches I’ve actually seen—whether live in person, on television, or any format accessible to me—and I’ll rank each game by how special it feels to me personally. Germany went unbeaten through the knockout rounds at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They edged Algeria 2-1 after extra time and narrowly defeated France 1-0 in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal clash with the host nation, Brazil. Brazil, for their part, had also been flawless up to the semifinals, beating Chile on penalties after a 1-1 draw and then defeating Colombia 2-1. Two players were unavailable for the Germany-Brazil semi: Neymar was sidelined with a back injury, and captain Thiago Silva had accrued enough yellow cards to warrant a suspension. The odds were stacked against Brazil, but many expected a tight contest between the two 2002 World Cup finalists. If only everyone had known what would happen.
The match kicked off in Belo Horizonte, and Brazil controlled the early stages. Marcelo, Brazil’s left-back, had the game’s first effort that narrowly missed, before Manuel Neuer had to be vigilant to cut out a cross from Hulk aimed at Bernard. Germany soon had their first real opportunity when Sami Khedira found space and delivered to the left for Thomas Müller. Mesut Özil collected the ball at the byline and returned a cross into the middle for Khedos—whose shot was inadvertently blocked by his own teammate, Toni Kroos. After ten minutes, play opened up enough for the first corner, which came after Marcelo’s misplaced clearance. Kroos whipped in a corner with power and height, and Müller escaped the challenge of David Luiz to volley Germany ahead in the 11th minute. Not ideal for Brazil.
From there, the match retained a cautious tempo, with both sides probing for an opening. A moment of tension arose when Jérôme Boateng and Marcelo tangled in a heated exchange, quickly defused by Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller to prevent needless bookings. Beyond that, the match remained a tightly contested affair. Miroslav Klose forced a save with a long-range effort, and Müller again became involved in a neat sequence: he fed Kroos, Fernandinho attempted to intercept, and the ball found its way back to Müller and Klose for a coordinated Team Germany move.
This is the kind of match that sticks with you: a World Cup night in which a tactical duel, a single strike, and the emotional weight of a potential historic upset collide. I’ll continue to share more of these memories as I compile my top 10 Germany wins at the World Cup, including matches I’ve witnessed in various formats and the personal significance each one holds. If you’ve got favorites from Germany’s World Cup history, I’d love to hear which games resonate most with you and why.