Stunning World Cup Loss Deals Heavy Blow to Brazil

i t's not just the darkest night in the history of Brazilian soccer — it’s one of the darkest nights in Brazilian history. Soccer runs through the bloodstream of the country like it does through no other nation on earth. It defines the country. Soccer is what Brazil excels at. No other nation has won five World Cups.

So to lose one of its most high-profile games in such an utterly humiliating way is a hammer blow to the country, and one from which it will struggle to recover.

Seven goals to one. No one — and I mean no one — could have predicted that score. Brazil conceded four goals in six devastating minutes in the first half. This is a country that hasn’t been beaten at home in a major competition in thirty years; a team that has never conceded seven goals and hasn't been beaten by six goals since 1920.