Portugal got off to a woeful start in its World Cup campaign, as Germany ripped it apart 4-0. The game was one of the most hotly anticipated of the tournament, but it fell flat after 45 minutes. Here are some things we learned.

1. Pepe makes poor decisions

Real Madrid defender Pepe is known for being a hothead. On this night, that reputation did not serve him well. With the game at 2-0, Portugal seemed to start finding its groove in the offensive zone. Then Pepe lost his cool. First he swatted Thomas Muller in the face as he was battling for the ball. Muller predictably fell to the ground and earned a foul. What did Pepe do next? He walked over to Muller and subtly head-butted him. It was probably not enough to earn the red card that was given to him, but it was clear that the call was made based on Pepe's reputation. After that, it was game over.

2. Portugal caters to Cristiano Ronaldo too much

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player on the planet in current form. And understandably, a rather shallow Portuguese team is looking to its leader to help it forward. So naturally, the Portuguese team seemed to try and pick out Ronaldo on every single play; often disastrously. At one point in the first half, Nani had a clear run down the right wing that he could have taken to goal. Instead, he tried to center it for Ronaldo and wound up blowing a great chance to score. Later that half, Fabio Coentrao found himself all alone in front of goal with a beautiful opportunity to score. What did he do? He tried to pass it to CR7 instead. The ball went out of bounds.

Ronaldo had one clear scoring chance early in the game, then went missing for the remainder of the match. It was a poor night for him and an even more embarrassing one for Portugal.

3. Mesut Ozil looks right at home

Mesut Ozil's season with Arsenal started great, then slowed down. He was invisible near the end of the year and became a scapegoat for his club's failure to secure the Premier League title. Ozil's start for Germany was not surprising, but his play certainly was. The German midfielder looked terrific down the flanks and was particularly adept at making the creative pass to create opportunities on goal for his teammates. He had an opportunity for himself at one point, but he fired the ball over the net.

4. Thomas Muller owns the day

In 2010, Thomas Muller was named the Best Young Player in the World Cup after scoring five goals in six games. Heading into this tournament, he was expected to carry the heavy offensive load for Germany as the false nine forward, and he certainly lived up to billing with his most defining World Cup performance yet. He scored his first goal on a penalty, then added a second right before halftime. In the second half, he completed the hat trick and gave his team a 4-0 victory. The 24-year-old now has eight goals in just seven World Cup matches and is on pace to top Ronaldo's 15 career World Cup goals. He might even pass teammate Miroslav Klose, he of 14 career World Cup goals, who was on the bench the entire match.

Bonus: Iberian domination in Salvador

Spain opened its World Cup campaign at the Arena Fonte Nova last Friday. The result was a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Netherlands. Germany and Portugal also played in Salvador, and the result was another massive drubbing.

Man of the Match:

Germany: Muller's three goals made him the clear-cut MVP of the game.

Portugal: In a 4-0 drubbing, no one can really be looked at as having had a good game. That said, Nani was the most noticeable man on the pitch for the Iberian. Eder also proved to be a huge improvement over Hugo Almeida at the striker position.

Flop of the Match:

Germany: No one had a bad game. The entire squad played with tremendous cohesion.

Portugal: Ronaldo is the heart and soul of his team, and he went missing the whole afternoon. He rarely made runs into open space for passes, and he failed make his mark when he had the ball. This was a truly bad evening for the reigning Ballon d'Or winner.