As in every World Cup year bar 1950 when the Germans were still banned from all sporting activity for starting the Second World War, Germany's football team have once again started in emphatic fashion.
Portugal was supposed to be difficult. Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to be tough to contain for the German defence which resembled a hospital ward early on.
Alas, in sunny Salvador, Portugal's deficiencies were laid bare to all - poor in defence and offering little besides Ronaldo who was shut down effectively by Philipp Lahm and the back four.
Indeed, Germany should have scored more than the 4 they got - it could very well have been 8 which is what the Germans scored against Saudi Arabia all those years ago in Sapporo.
It is incredible to think that Thomas Mueller is actually a midfielder, a false number 9, rather than a proper goalscorer like teammate Miroslav Klose. But he showed why Jogi Loew picked only two strikers for the squad with a goalscorer's poaching ability, scoring the first hat-trick of the tournament.
Mueller's only stain on a perfect day was perhaps his over-reaction to being shoved in the face by Pepe - this doesn't exonerate the Portugese defender at all though and it was a deserved red card who should have known better not to fall to Mueller's trap, another one for the Real Madrid centre back.
So Group G looks set in stone even though Ghana and the USA showed some spirit - it will be quite difficult to stop the Germans right now. I guess questions remain as to whether the Germans can be this effective against tougher opposition, including Brazil who they could potentially face in the semifinals.
Mats Hummels limped off with an injury - a big loss for a backline that isn't the best in world football, while Mesut Ozil still looks very lost - most of the forward impetus came from Mueller and super sub Schurrle.
On this performance, you could say yes - but you could say the same for Brazil, Holland, Argentina, Colombia, etc.
Meanwhile, Iran and Nigeria also served to remind us that goalless draws still exist and that there are some crap teams at this World Cup. Less said, the better.
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