Germany look beyond Brazil win to WC final

Germany lost in the semi-finals of two consecutive World Cups before making it to Sunday's (Monday AEST) final in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium.

They were determined not to let their hard-earned chance slip away.

"Let's not overrate it," Germany coach Joachim Loew said after the 7-1 semi-final thrashing of hosts Brazil.

Loew and his men were happy after dealing five-time world champions Brazil their worst defeat since 1920, but there was no euphoria.

After all, Germany have a final to play in Rio de Janeiro, and a generation of players who have had their own share of World Cup disappointment do not want to leave Brazil without the trophy.

Of the current Germany squad, captain Philipp Lahm, goalscorer Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski lost the 2006 World Cup semi-final 2-0 in extra time to later champions Italy.

Those four, plus Toni Kroos, keeper Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil, Thomas Mueller, Per Mertesacker and Jerome Boateng, lost 1-0 to later-champions Spain in the 2010 semi-final in South Africa.

Now, after making it through to the 2014 final, they want to remain focused and understand that a 7-1 win will mean little if they lose their next match, against either the Netherlands or Argentina.

"It's important that we simply remain calm," Loew said. "This team is now really willing to win that final as well."

Loew dug into his memories of eight years ago, when he was assistant coach to Juergen Klinsmann with the Germany national team, to show his sympathy for Brazil.

"In our own country, we too missed the opportunity to make it to the final, and that is of course an enormous disappointment for any country," he said. "It's going to be difficult (for Brazil) to digest."

Germany have built their team around a generation of huge promise, but they are yet to win a major title. Along with their World Cup setbacks, they lost the Euro 2008 final to Spain and fell to Italy in the semi-finals of the Euro 2012.

"We still have one match left to win," Kroos said. "The team is determined to be the champions, and so far no one has become a champion in a semi-final."

Germany players know the hype over their fantastic performance against Brazil can prevent them from making this a truly great tournament, one to match their World Cup titles of 1954, 1974 and 1990.

"If each player gives it just five per cent less, which can soon happen after this kind of game, things get difficult," Mertesacker said.

Loew also issued a warning to his players and beyond, as they await a rival for the final.

"Nobody should feel invincible," he said.