Brazilian newspapers and websites were unanimous yesterday that the national team’s 7-1 hammering by Germany in the World Cup semi-final was the greatest shame in the country’s illustrious footballing history.

“Historic Disgrace” read the massive headline on the website of the Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil’s most influential newspaper.

Brazil is the only country to win the World Cup five times but the paper pointed out this was not just their biggest loss but the heaviest suffered by a host nation at the finals.

“Brazilian football was reduced to dust,” said main sports columnist Juca Kfouri, adding that Brazil was now one of two nations to have hosted and lost the World Cup twice.

The Folha website had a picture of Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari signalling to a player with seven fingers aloft and reproduced a gallery of crying fans.

The globoesporte website, part of the Globo media empire, called the result the ‘Disgrace of Disgraces’, in an ironic reference to President Dilma Rousseff’s repeated claims – and tweets – that this would be the World Cup of all World Cups.

The hashtag globoesporte chose instead was #I Can’t Believe it.

O Globo preferred to lead with the words of Scolari, who accepted the blame for the result.

“I’m responsible for all this,” was the paper’s headline.

A photoshopped image of the statue of Christ the Redeemer re-worked as a jubilant German Chancellor Angela Merkel was emblematic of the joy in Germany.

“Jogi’s night of records,” continued the Bild, listing the achievements chalked up in just 90 minutes of football: the greatest semi-final victory ever, Germany’s record eighth World Cup final appearance sealed and Miroslav Klose becoming the tournament’s sole all-time top goalscorer.

The joy was intermingled with a fair amount of astonishment.

Suddeutsche Zeitung succinctly summed up the feeling of euphoria in the land of the three-time World Cup winners in two words: “Cloud Nine.”

Like many in Germany, though, they found they were pinching themselves.

“Is it really true?” asked the Munich-based national newspaper.

“This game will reverberate for a long time. Jogi Loew delivered his masterpiece which he can only better himself in the final.”

Other World Cup shock results...

1950 group stage
United States 1 England 0

• Arguably the biggest World Cup upset when a group of American amateurs stunned mighty England in their group match.

Fans at Belo Horizonte’s stadium were left speechless when Haiti-born Joe Gaetjens scored the winner before half-time in what is still considered the biggest upset in World Cup history.

1950 final
Uruguay 2 Brazil 1

• In a different format at the time, hosts Brazil only needed a draw to clinch what could have been their first title but the bitterness of the surprise defeat to Uruguay re-mains to this day (at least until last Tuesday’s 1-7 debacle to Germany in the semi-finals) embedded deeply in the country’s collective psyche.

Known as the “Maracanazo”, the game left Brazil fans in shock, players vilified and some suicides were linked to the shock result at the time.

1954 final
West Germany 3 Hungary 2

• The Mighty Magyars had thrashed underdogs West Germany 8-3 earlier in the tournament and were overwhelming favourites to win the trophy.

But Helmut Rahn’s 84th-minute winner completed a stunning turnaround that has since become known as the “Wonder of Berne.”

1966 group stage
North Korea 1 Italy 0

• Complete unknowns, the North Koreans, shielded in their Stalinist regime, staged one of the biggest upsets, stunning star-studded and twice World Cup winners Italy in Middlesbrough.

1974 group stage
East Germany 1 West Germany 0

• It was seen as the battle of Capitalism vs Communism and when Juergen Sparwasser scored to help his team beat hosts West Germany 1-0, it was hailed behind the Iron Curtain as a victory over the evil West.

1982 group stage
Algeria 2 West Germany 1

• It was a classic David vs Goliath battle with the North Africans stunning the mighty Germans.

They in turn punished them for the defeat by playing out a 1-0 win over neighbours Austria days later in a result that sent both nations through and sent Algeria out.

1990 group stage
Cameroon 1 Argentina 0

• Francois Omam-Biyik’s 67th-minute goal completed a remarkable opening game for the tournament in Italy as the reigning champions fell to the Africans who would go on to win the hearts of fans with a dazzling run to the quarter-finals.

2002 group stage
Senegal 1 France 0

• Another World Cup opening disaster for the reigning champions in the tournament.

This time it was France who fell from grace after winning the trophy four years earlier.