Toni Kroos of Germany celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal. Getty Images

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

In the end, Brazil didn't have to look far to find a world-class playmaker capable of filling in for Neymar.

Unfortunately, he was playing for Germany.

Toni Kroos set up the opening two goals in Tuesday's World Cup semifinal, scored twice inside 90 seconds to blow the game wide open and was at the heart of the devastating first-half blitz that sparked his team's 7-1 rout of the host nation.

"We didn't have a chance to react," said Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. "I think everyone blanked out. It was four goals in six or seven minutes. There was nothing we could do."



Kroos was the inspiration behind the three-minute onslaught that turned a titanic clash between soccer superpowers into a one-sided rout.

He had already delivered the perfect ball on a corner kick for Thomas Müller to open the scoring when he cut through the Brazilian defense and laid the ball off to Miroslav Klose for the second goal 22 minutes in.

Just one minute later, Kroos produced the most stunning goal of an extraordinary game. Germany launched another lightning break, Philipp Lahm crossed from the right and Kroos slammed a left-footed rocket into the left-hand corner. Júlio César, the Brazil goalkeeper, barely moved.

When Kroos exchanged passes with Sami Khedira and tapped into an unguarded net following another razor-sharp counterattack off the subsequent kickoff, Germany had scored three times in a span of just 179 seconds and the Brazilian defense was shellshocked.

Forced to abandon caution and go on the attack, Brazil's shaky defense was constantly exposed and Khedira added a fifth goal following a give-and-go with Mesut Özil 15 minutes before halftime. In the second half, substitute André Schürrle scored twice more and Brazil's humiliation was complete.

A late goal by Oscar wasn't any type of consolation for the bewildered Brazil fans.

Kroos may not have the mesmerizing ball skills or electric speed of superstars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar, whose absence with a back injury was the talk of the tournament.

But with his vision, energy and metronomic short passes, the 24-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder is an ideal playmaker for the modern game.

As the most advanced of Germany's three midfielders, Kroos is the brains behind the team's warp-speed counterattacks. Entering Tuesday's semifinal, Kroos ranked third in the tournament with 450 successful passes and his laser-guided long passes allow Germany's dangerous attacker break forward at Mach 3.

His work rate had seen him cover more ground in Brazil than all but three players headed into Tuesday's game, while his dead-ball prowess had accounted for three of Germany's 10 goals.

Soccer fans have long known about Kroos's qualities. He made his debut for German powerhouse Bayern Munich aged just 17, and was given a first start for Die Nationalmannschaft at 20, and has been tipped for a starring role at this tournament ever since he was named player of the tournament at the Under-17 World Cup in 2007, finishing as the top scorer with five goals.

Tuesday, in front of an audience of tens of millions, Kroos delivered a master class.

Write to Jonathan Clegg at