Lewis Holtby put Germany ahead in the 73rd minute, but with two minutes remaining Maicon exploited a gap in the German defence and beat goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler at his near post.

A mix-up among Germany's defenders in the first minute of injury time allowed Maicon space and he expertly lobbed Zieler.

team pride

"That's football. We lost and we can't change it - we have to look forward," Germany striker Richard Sukuta-Pasu said. "I'm very proud of the team. We played very well here."

Brazil will play either Costa Rica or the United Arab Emirates in the semi-final. "The Germans took the first step and got the goal. But my players stayed calm, and that's very important," Brazil coach Rogerio Lourenco said. "I knew Brazil didn't deserve to be defeated, and we went on to win the match."

Germany coach Horst Hrubesch was very happy with his players' performance but expressed a little disappointment.

"We had been controlling the game up until the (Brazilian) goal," he said. "But we made a mistake and it cost us the match ... . But as a team, the players progressed very well and we enjoyed a great atmosphere here."

slow-paced first half

Both teams struggled under Cairo's late afternoon heat in a slow-paced first half of little invention and few chances.

Seconds before the break, Sukuta-Pasu found space but shot straight at the goalkeeper Rafael.

Sukuta-Pasu continued to look like Germany's most threatening player, and his header from Bjorn Kopplin's left-wing cross forced a brilliant save from Rafael in the 54th minute.

Rafael denied Sukuta-Pasu again in the 61st, sprinting off his line to dive at his feet after he had latched on to Lewis Holtby's pass.