Having been crushed 7-1 by Germany in their semifinal, the hosts were aiming to bounce back and restore some pride, while Louis van Gaal's side were looking to respond after an agonising penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the last four. Brazilian hopes soon evaporated, however, as Netherlands took the lead within three minutes in Brasilia.
Thiago Silva was extremely fortunate not to become the first player ever to be sent off twice in the same World Cup as he hauled down Arjen Robben in the penalty area. Despite clearly being the last man, Silva -- who saw red in the quarterfinal victory over Colombia -- escaped with only a caution, though Van Persie showed no mercy when coolly despatching the resulting penalty high into the roof of Julio Cesar's net.
Another lapse in defensive concentration cost Brazil soon after; this time it was Silva's central defensive partner David Luiz at fault, as a poor header gifted Netherlands a second goal. Defensive midfielder Blind was the unlikely recipient, beautifully controlling the ball 10 yards out and rifling a right-footed shot home.
Brazil rallied after the interval and could count themselves unlucky not to win a penalty when Blind appeared to trip Oscar, who was instead adjudged to have dived by referee Djamel Haimoudi.
But the hosts' misery was then compounded as Daryl Janmaat crossed for Wijnaldum to steer home a third for the Oranje in stoppage-time, with Van Gaal even finding time to bring on goalkeeper Michel Vorm at the death to ensure every player in the Dutch squad made an appearance at this World Cup.
The Selecao had finished in third place in the 1938 and 1978 tournaments but there was to be no repeat as Netherlands left South America with a bronze medal as consolation for their campaign.
Source: espn sport
No comments:
Post a Comment