Germany showed their superiority in their Group G opening encounter as they humbled Portugal 4-0 with Thomas Muller scoring the first hattrick of the tournament. The Bayern Munich striker scored a penalty early in the game to give Germany the lead then Matt Hummels head home from a corner before Muller pounce on a poor clearance from the portugal defence to further extend the lead still in the first half, he put the final nail in the coffin for Portugal in the closing minute of the game tapping home from close range.
Joachim Low played a open formation, showing that his team intends to go all attack; Thomas Muller was prefered to veteran Miroslav Klose upfront, with Mesut Ozil and Mario Goetze supported him fronm the wings, while Sami khedira, Toni Kroos and Lahm played in the midfield.
Paulo Bento fielded a similar formation with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani flanking Hugo Almeida who was prefered to Elder Postiga, Veloso, Moutinho and Meireles were saddled with the responsibility of creating cover for the defence.
Right from kickoff, Germany looks the more purposeful moving the ball around quickly and initiating attack minded play, but it was Portugal with Ronaldo sprinting and shooting at goal after Miguel Veloso won the ball off captain Philipp Lahm but Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did well to keep the score goalless.
Portugal goalkeeper, Patricio almost gave Germany the lead when his poor clearance fell kindly to Sami Khedira but his long range effort from about 40 yards went agonizingly wide with the goalkeeper beaten.
Germany took the lead not long after that in the 12th minute; Joao Pereira hauled down Mario Gotze in the 18 yard box as the two struggled for the ball and Muller stepped up to take the resulting spot kick which he buried into the left bottom corner.
Hugo Almeida was helped off the field before the half-hour mark as he could not recover from a knock he sustained after he fell under a challenge by Hummels and was replaced by Eder but their woes were soon compounded as Hummels rose above Pepe and Bruno Alves in the 32nd-minute to power a header past Patricio from Toni Kroos' out swinging corner to make it two for Germany.
It got worse for Portugal as Pepe was sent off for violent conduct when he headbutted Thomas Muller as the latter presumably simulated under a challenge by Pepe.
Muller got his second of the game on the stroke of half time as he lash onto a poor clearance by Bruno Alves to even push the lead further to the amazement of the onlooking fans.
There were still fleeting moments for Portugal fans to get excited about, as Nani broke well but missed Ronaldo with a pass, before Coentrao, perhaps surprised at finding himself on side, crossed for the talisman instead of shooting in a good position.
Paulo Bento's team was depleted again when first choice left full back, Fabio Coentrao was taken off the pitch with a serious looking suspected groin injury in the second half.
Muller nodded over in the second half after an Ozil effort was saved, while at the other end Portugal's plight was summed up when Nani and Coentrao ran into each other inside Germany's penalty area.
Muller wrapped up the victory, finding himself in the right place to tap in after Patricio spilled a routine cross from substitute Andre Schurrle to seal the victory.
while the result was a serious statement of intent from Germany - who saw defender Hummels limp off with a late knee injury - Portugal's progression from the group stage of the competition suffers a a huge dent, having conceded this much goals with games against the USA and Ghana still to come.
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