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Chance after chance was offered, and the聽Germany聽players just kept on taking them with clinical efficiency.

In the end, not even they could scarcely believe the 7-1 World Cup semifinal win over聽Brazil.

Thomas Mueller opened the scoring in the 11th minute, and then Miroslav Klose's record-breaking 16th World Cup career goal triggered a four-goal frenzy in a seven-minute span as聽Germany聽took a 5-0 lead inside half an hour on Tuesday.

And this was against聽Brazil, the five-time World Cup champion, playing on home soil.

"It was of course not exactly expected. The space we had was bigger than against defensive teams," Mueller said. "We took advantage of it superbly, the opponent at some point gets broken. Now we have to pull all the stops one more time and lift the thing. We should keep our feet on the ground."

Germany聽will seek its fourth title on Sunday at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana against either Argentina or the Netherlands.聽Germany聽is in its first final since losing 2-0 to聽Brazil聽in 2002. It finished third in the last two tournaments.

Mueller recalled how聽Germany聽was criticized back home after eking out a 2-1 win over Algeria after a poor performance to start the knockout stage, and now "we'll be forever praised."

骋别谤尘补苍测听肠辞补肠丑 Joachim Loew said the "shell-shocked"聽Brazil聽side was so stunned it didn't know how to respond.

"We realized that they were cracking up and took advantage of it, " Loew said. "It was very important to stay calm, cool and courageous in facing Brazilian passion.聽Brazil聽was shocked after the goals, they did not expect that. They did not know what to do."

Germany聽lost in the semifinals in 2006 at home to Italy and had sympathy for聽Brazil, with players of the two teams embracing each other after the match and the Germans trying to console the Brazilians.

Mueller said聽Germany聽had still not reached its goal, which is the title.

"We are simply a very good team," he said.

Toni Kroos, who scored two goals and set up Mueller's, said, "we are here to be World Cup winners."

"We played an incredible match. If someone had told me before the match that we'd win 7-1, I'd have said, 'good, we'll take it,'" Kroos said.

Kroos has been crucial in executing聽Germany's聽set pieces, especially from corners. Five of聽Germany's聽17 goals at the tournament have come after corners, while one was a penalty.

The Germans have been practicing set pieces, part of the team's meticulous preparations that are paying off as it seeks to capture its first major title since the 1996 European Championship.

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