When Brazil and Holland face off in Brasilia on Saturday, they will be playing a game that no nation wants to see their team play in. There will be no trophy presentation at the end, no celebration, no crowning of a new world super power. The Estadio Nacional will see two of the worlds proudest soccer nations playing in a game that means almost nothing. Brazil come into the match after one of the most shocking games in World Cup history, while Holland will have found themselves unlucky to be in this position after losing on penalties to Lionel Messi and Argentina.
There is no doubt that both teams will still want to end their tournament with a victory. Brazil will want to make amends for their horrendous showing against Germany, while Holland will want to conclude what in some people’s eyes has been a very worthy display over the course of the past month.
It is always an interesting talking point when trying to predict whether or not the coaches will continue to use their regular lineups in games like these. In spite of their semifinal implosion against the Germans, the Dutch should expect the Brazilians to come out with their regular squad as they will surely try to at least repair some of the damage that was created after their semifinal performance. The rumors out of the Dutch camp this week have stated that Louis Van Gaal will likely decide to use a mixture of younger players along with some of his regular starters.
Daley Blind (24), Stefan de Vrij (22), Bruno Martins Indi (22) and Memphis Depay (20) have all been shining stars for the Dutch throughout the tournament; and have gained valuable experience that will surely help them when they go to Russia in four years time. Look for them to all feature once more along players like Arjen Robben on Saturday.
Whether or not Robin van Persie will play is still unknown as he has been battling stomach problems for the last two weeks. If he does not feature it will most likely be Klaas Jan Huntelaar that takes his place. If that is the case, look for the Dutch to play balls out of the back in search of the Schalke striker, as he is very capable of playing with his back to goal, holding the ball up well in the final third.
It will be interesting to see if Van Gaal elects to play twenty-three year old Jordy Clasie. The Ajax midfielder has been dubbed the “Dutch Xavi” and a game like this could give the young midfielder the invaluable experience of playing in a World Cup match. Bringing in a player with the creative mindset of Clasie could give the Dutch the spark they need in the midfield as a lack of creativity from any of the Dutch midfielders seemed to be the biggest problem when they faced Argentina.
Brazil was exposed against Germany. They simply are not as good as many had hoped for. If Holland can find space in the midfield, they will surely be able to pick apart the Brazilians once more. Yes, Brazil will want to make amends for what they did against Germany but that won’t change the fact that this year’s squad is just not up to the quality that many expected from “A Selecao.” There have even been talks of many Brazilian fans possibly boycotting the game as a protest to their most recent performance, something that will only help the Dutch and hurt the Brazilians that much more.
Holland has been known to play part in some of the most boring matches; as was displayed against Costa Rica, Argentina and Spain (2010 World Cup Final). So to predict a mass amount of goals would go against anything that the Dutch have shown. That being said they are also capable of exploding and picking apart very lackluster sides (opening match against Spain in this years tournament) when given the chance.
In the end, I think it will once again be Holland’s day. They have been a very good team throughout this tournament. Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder will probably don the “Oranje” one more time at a World Cup and will surely want to end their international careers on a high note. Their backline anchored by Ron Vlaar will have a relatively easy time with a very inferior Brazilian attack (cough cough “Fred”) while the Dutch midfield will have the space in the midfield that they did not get against Argentina. Holland is the superior squad and I think they will show that on Saturday.
The game is set to kick off at 4:00 PM EST and can be seen on ESPN, Univision and streamed on WatchESPN from here and in Spanish here. It will be Brazil’s swan song as they close out their own tournament in Brasilia, one that the Dutch will surely look to spoil.
My prediction: Holland wins 2-0.
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