World Cup: Brazil and Germany win to set "clash of titans" - PHOTOS

Host nation Brazil are through to the World Cup semifinals after a hotly-contested 2-1 victory over CONMEBOL rivals Colombia.

A Thiago Silva first half goal and a David Luiz second half goal proved enough against a valiant Colombia side which got a late penalty from James Rodríguez.

Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari went with Júlio César in goal, Marcelo, Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Maicon in defense, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Oscar and Hulk in midfield and Fred and Neymar up top in attack.

Colombia boss Jose Pekerman rolled out a starting XI consisting of David Ospina in goal, Juan Camilo Zúñiga, Mario Yepes, Cristian Zapata and Pablo Armero in defense, Carlos Sánchez and Fredy Guarín as the central midfielders while Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Víctor Ibarbo manned the wings. And of course, up top in attack joining Teo Gutiérrez was emerging superstar James Rodríguez.

Unlike their second round thriller with Chile where they were tense and tight from the outset, Brazil showed a better brand of football from the start against Los Cafeteros and were rewarded with an early goal. Neymar swung in a corner kick which found Silva at the back post and the PSG man had an easy push into goal to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in seventh minute.

Undeterred, Colombia sought a response and Cuadrado nearly hit back with an equalizer in the 11th but his shot just skipped wide. But Brazil continued to display an attacking verve that had been missing against Chile. Scolari's men pounded the Colombian goal and if not for the interventions from Ospina, the Selecão could have had another two or three first half goals.

Colombia's efforts in attack were seriously limited due to the superb marking of the Brazilian defense on James. The Porto man either had zero room to work with the ball or was fouled, with Maicon and Paulinho usual culprits.

Pekerman's men continued to fight though and thought they had leveled the match in the 66th minute through Yepes after a scramble in the box but the linesman ruled offside. It was then two minutes later when Brazil all but sealed the match as David Luiz's swerving free kick went searing past Ospina and into the back of the net to make it 2-0 Brazil.

Colombia continued to fight and were able to halve the margin in the 80th minute when James converted a penalty after Júlio César had brought down substitute Carlos Bacca in the area.

In search for a second, Colombia pushed all numbers forward but in the end, the Brazilian defense did just enough to keep Los Cafeteros from a dream comeback, and set up a semifinal date with Germany.

Germany 1-0 France

Germany advanced to the semifinals of the World Cup for the fourth straight time with a 1-0 victory over France on a sun-baked Friday afternoon at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Mats Hummels' 12th minute header was all the scoring needed from the three-time champions who never really allowed France a strong foothold in the match. Germany will now await the winner of the Brazil-Colombia contest.

The Germans went with Manuel Neuer in goal, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Benedikt Höwedes and Philipp Lahm in defense. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos composed the three-man midfield and up front it was Mesut Özil, Thomas Müller and Miroslav Klose.

France boss Didier Deschamps rolled out a 4-3-3 formation with Hugo Lloris in goal, Mathieu Debuchy, Raphael Varane, Mamadou Sakho and Patrice Evra in defense, Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye and Blaise Matuidi in midfield and a front attacking three of Mathieu Valbuena, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann.

Sheer determination put Germany ahead in the early going as a Hummels header off a Kroos free kick gave Joachim Löw's team a 1-0 lead. Kroos looped the ball into the area and Hummels simply outfought Varane to redirect the ball past Lloris into goal.

The French looked to answer the early German strike and had a few chances at goal, notably a Benzema chance in the 34th minute, but the Real Madrid man was unable to land a shot on target.

Deschamps' men continued their quest for a goal into the second half and Varane nearly made up for his earlier defensive shortcoming with a 60th minute header that Neuer did well to save. With time dwindling down, the chances for France remained limited as the German defense did a stellar job of clamping down on Les Bleus, who also appeared to lack the necessary urgency.

Substitute Andre Schürrle should have killed off the match in the 82nd minute when Müller set him up with a ball on a silver platter but the shot from the Chelsea man was kick-saved by Lloris. Five minutes later it was Schürrle again being wasteful with a chance as he rocketed a shot straight into Varane with time and space to shoot.

Neuer's goal would only be threatened in the final moment as a Benzema shot from the left had to be pawed away by the Bayern Munich goalkeeper. In the end, the French were sent packing under the hot Rio sun, while Germany take another step forward in their search for a fourth star.

/Marca/