After tearing England apart 4-1 in the second round with a devastating display of counter-attacking, the rampant Germans handed Argentina an unimaginable spanking.
Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Sami Khedira were bundles of fizzing energy as they tore into Diego Maradona's shellshocked team.
Coach Joachim Low deserves huge credit for giving the youngsters their head, but it should also be remembered that he kept faith with some old hands when all around him were questioning his wisdom.
Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose both had wretched club seasons but, back in harness for the national team, they looked world beaters.
Klose's two goals made it a 100th international appearance to cherish while Podolski, still only 25 but winning his 78th cap, was a tireless runner whose movement left Argentina's defenders chasing shadows.
Muller, who is set to cruelly miss the semi-final against either Spain or Paraguay because of a harsh second booking for handball, got the ball rolling with a glancing header.
Klose tapped in the crucial second and finished off the extraordinary rout with his 52nd international goal and 14th in World Cups - level with Gerd Muller and second now only to Brazil's Ronaldo.
YOUTHFUL VIGOUR
The third goal was from a less likely source as 31-year-old centre-back Arne Friedrich tapped in his first for his country in his 77th appearance.
The glue linking young and old, defence and attack is Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Still only 25 he half-belongs in the youthful vigour camp but with 79 caps already he is also one of the wise old heads of the squad.
In the injury-enforced absence of Michael Ballack, Schweinsteiger has matured into Germany's focal point in this tournament, growing in authority with every passing match.
Having set up the opening goal with a wicked free kick he went on to deliver an absolutely terrific performance.
Like a squash player dominating the "T" he bestrode the centre circle and outshone everyone in an Argentina shirt.
Spreading passes long and short, prompting his team mates into space then overlapping and joining the attack when he saw a gap, it was a midfield masterclass that Ballack, watching from the stands, could surely only marvel at.
Credit is also due to the German defence, which did a superb job of muzzling Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez - something that had proved impossible for every other team Argentina had faced in the tournament.
Messi, crowded out whenever he got near the ball, ended the game a frustrated figure reduced to hopeful, and usually wayward, long-distance shots.
He goes home in disappointment, his reputation as a world great a little tarnished.
Germany march on, meanwhile, with reputations being burnished all over the field.
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