Germany wins 7-1 again: No, Brazil fans, it's not you this time

Somewhere in Dhaka last night, Brazil fans saw the scoreline flash across their screens. Germany. Seven. Their opponent. One. And for exactly three seconds, their hearts stopped. We don't blame them. Memory is a powerful thing. 

For those who were not around in 2014, or have successfully repressed the memory, Germany once did this to Brazil. At a World Cup. On Brazilian soil. In the semi-finals. The final score was 7-1, and the entire country of Brazil collectively forgot how to breathe for about a week. We are sure they still struggle sometimes. 

Historians called it one of the greatest sporting humiliations ever recorded, and Brazil fans across the globe have stopped drinking a particular soft drink since.

So, when Germany posted a 7-1 scoreline again last night against Curaçao, the trauma response was understandable.

To be clear, Curaçao is a small island with a population of about 150,000 people. That's roughly the size of a Dhaka neighbourhood. Nobody expected them to come here and win. Everybody expected Germany to be comfortable.

Nobody expected Germany to wake up and choose violence at this particular level.

Seven goals. Felix Nmecha opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Kai Havertz scored twice. Jamal Musiala and Nico Schlotterbeck added their names to what was quickly becoming a very long list. Deniz Undav came off the bench and joined in, because apparently seven was not already enough of a statement.

Curaçao did score, to their enormous credit. Livano Comenencia equalised at 1-1, and the whole island probably erupted. It lasted about fifteen minutes before Germany remembered what they were doing.

The Brazilian fans watching all of this were doing their best. Telling themselves it was different. Curaçao are not Brazil. That the scoreline is just a coincidence. Those numbers don't have feelings.

They're right, of course. Germany beating a debuting nation 7-1 is nothing like what happened in Brazil, twelve years ago. It just looks exactly like it.

After 12 years, Brazil fans can finally share their misery. The 7-1 belongs to someone else, for now at least.