Absolutely nothing went right for Portugal in its first 45 minutes of 2014 FIFA World Cup action.
What was expected to be a tight matchup Monday afternoon quickly became a rout, as Germany racked up three first-half goals to take a big lead into the locker room. Making matters even worse for Portugal, though, was a major error committed by defender Pepe in the 40th minute.
Pepe made contact with the face of Germany’s Thomas Müller as the two jostled for possession, and Müller went down to the turf in a heap. It appeared to be a bit of a flop on the German’s part and likely would not have resulted in a card, but Pepe decided to return to the grounded forward and, while trash-talking, lightly headbutt him.
The referee was quick to hand Pepe a red card for his actions, a punishment that also carries with it a one-game suspension. So Portugal will be without one of its top defenders when it takes on the United States on Sunday.
Müller, meanwhile, had himself a stellar first half, netting two of his team’s three goals in a 4-0 win.
Review our live blog of Germany-Portugal >>
GIFs via @myregularface
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