#worldcup Third-Place Play-Off Brazil 0-3 Netherlands van Persie 3 pen, Blind 16, Wijnaldum 90 Two early goals helped Holland effortlessly clinch third place as Brazil failed to shine again in front of their fans and end the tournament on a miserable note with a 3-0 defeat.
The Brazil team was meant to gain some credibility back from this game after the 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany plus give thanks to the home fans for their fervent support throughout the World Cup.
The fact that at the end of 90 minutes they quickly left the field to a chorus of boos and jeers was evidence enough they had failed on both counts. Their defensive frailties remained and the simple truth that many of the players on display are not of international quality was confirmed.
Within 16 minutes the host nation found themselves trailing by two goals and, if the referee Djamel Haimoudi had been more decisive, could have been reduced to ten men. The game had barely started when skipper Thiago Silva hauled down Arjen Robben has he broke into the penalty area.
Television replays showed that the foul was outside the area but also that Silva was the last defender and should have been shown red, not yellow, for clearly denying the Dutch forward a goal scoring opportunity.
Justice of sorts was done with the award of the spot kick which Robin van Persie clinically dispatched.
The crowd had been stunned into silence with the worst possible start by the Samba Boys and the situation looked even more hopeless a few minutes later. David Luiz must have his new employers Paris Saint Germain wondering why they paid Chelsea £50m for his services as yet again he revealed his defensive shortcomings.
Instead of heading a routine cross to safety over the cross bar he choose to keep the ball in play with a weak clearance which bounced into the path of Daley Blind who had time and space to control the ball before firing home.
With the exception of Oscar Brazil were poor in this first period as they seemed not to have learned the lessons of the Germany defeat, the Netherlands always looked dangerous on the break when the Samba Boys careless gave away possession.
A rally of sorts occurred after the break with Brazil looking the more dominate yet their opponents easily rebuffed their attempts to get back into the game. Ramires dragged a shot narrowly wide and Oscar was unlucky to be booked for diving in the penalty area when he had clearly been impeded by Blind.
As the Netherlands began to play out time with possession football the boos from the crowd began. They momentarily stopped as a sweeping Dutch move on the stroke of full time cut open the Brazilian rearguard and Georginio Wijnaldum applied the finishing touch.
The referee blew his whistle and the crowd vented their frustrations which will surely see coach Luiz Felipe Scolari end his tenure as manager of Brazil.
