Netherlands Take Third Place

Netherlands Take Third Place

Netherlands Take Third Place

📅13 July 2014, 11:00

Brazil’s World Cup efforts were brought to a miserable end by the Netherlands last night as the host nation was convincingly beaten in the third-place play-off.

Goals from Robin van Persie, Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum secured the Dutch victory and saw Brazil suffer back-to-back defeats on home soil for the first time since 1940. The disappointment was evident around the stadium as Brazilian supporters turned on their team, cheering opposition attacks and booing their own players.

After just three minutes Van Persie was awarded a penalty when Brazil’s captain Silva pulled him back and he expertly found the back of the net. Just fifteen minutes later the Dutch scored again when defender David Luiz headed a clearance to Blind who them found the top corner of the net for his first international goal.

Brazil improved as the half wore on, but the players were still booed as they left for the half-time break. The second half was in general extremely slow with the only real moment of excitement coming in the ninetieth minute when Wiljnaldum scored the Netherlands third goal.

The game was an excellent send off for the departing Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal who is now going on to be manager of Manchester United. While the team is sure to be disappointed not to have made it to the final, they will take comfort from winning this play-off in such a convincing manner.

As for Brazil, Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will now be uncertain what his future is with the team and there are a number of players who must have played in their last World Cup.

Results

Upcoming Final Match

Germany vs. Argentina, Sunday, July 13, 2014 – Match Preview