The second to last game of Brazil 2014 took place today at the Nacional stadium in Brasilia. In the game nobody likes to play the Netherlands beat host nation Brazil to claim the third place of the tournament.
The game began with an all too familiar characteristic, a mistake by the referee– In the first minute of play Holland’s Arjen Robben beat Brazil’s Thiago Silva and was on his way to a one-on-one with Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar. Silva pulled Robben down and the referee called the foul, then the game’s judge proceeded to get everything else wrong. The infraction clearly occurred outside of the box, yet he awarded the Netherlands with a penalty kick and only punished Silva with a yellow card when the player should have been sent off, since he was the last man on defense.
Robin Van Persie took advantage of the penalty kick and put the European squad ahead. Before Brazil was able to settle down and level the game up, Daley Blind took advantage of a bad defensive clearance and in the 16th minute made the score 2-0.
Brazil’s inability to create danger in its opponent’s goal dissipated slightly in the second half. Oscar, Ramirez and Maicon created decent chances but failed to make a difference on the scoreboard. The referee, whose poor performance continued throughout the game, did not help the Brazilian cause when he refused to call two clear infractions by the Netherlands which should have resulted in penalty kicks.
In stoppage time, Holland midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum sealed the deal and made the final score 3-0. The Netherlands, participating in its second third-place match, finished the tournament unbeaten and as the third place of a World Cup for the first time in their history.
With the loss, Brazil finishes what may be the worst week in their glorious soccer history in which they received 10 goals in just two games. It was the fourth time they played in the consolation match and the second time they finished as the fourth place team in the tournament
Luis Gonzalez may be reached at [email protected]
