Is there an unofficial mercy rule in the FIFA World Cup?

There is no official mercy rule, but I think there's a sort of general understanding that when the difference is 4 or 5 goals, it's polite for the winning team to take their foot off the pedal. read more

No - one would generally expect that in the FIFA world cup finals, especially at the semifinal stage (presumably you've been inspired to write this by German's massive victory against Brazil). If one team is playing well enough to keep scoring then they're very welcome to do so - generally the losing team would try to salvage something from the game. read more

Due to the generally low-scoring nature of soccer games, there are no widely-used mercy rules. With one exception. The International Blind Sports Federation, which helps visually-impaired athletes compete in the Para-Olympics and other tournaments, requires that any time during a soccer game that one team has scored ten more goals than the other team that game is deemed completed. read more

A Brazilian labor court ruled cooling breaks during World Cup matches are obligatory when temperatures soar (> 32 degree celsius), challenging FIFA, the tournament’s organizer. Judge Rogerio Neiva ruled that players must be given breaks when the ambient temperature – which takes into account humidity, wind and actual temperature – exceeds 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). read more