In a game where the hosts could only try to heal their semifinal performance, Holland proved too strong an opponent for a very lackluster Brazilian opponent. It started off terribly and didn’t get much better along the way for “A Selecao.”
It didn’t take long for the Brazilian nightmare to continue. Thiago Silva should have been sent off within two minutes after he pulled down Arjen Robben who was speeding passed him on his way to a sure goal. The referee seemed to pity the PSG defender though, as he only showed him a yellow for his challenge. Robin van Persie then coolly stepped up to the spot and gave the Dutch a 1-0 lead within 3 minutes.
The nightmare continued as Daley Blind made it 2-0 on 15’. The ball was sent in from the right flank that cleared the head of Julio Cesar only for David Luiz to make a mess of the clearance, seemingly passing the ball to Blind who was waiting on the penalty spot to easily slot it into the roof of the net.
Through twenty minutes, the Brazilians once again looked completely shell shocked and confused. The Brazilian defense was once again completely non-existent. Dutch players were moving through the Brazilian half with ease creating a handful of chances within the first 20’.
They did look more threatening in the final third through this time than they did against Germany. Oscar was among the more influential of players for the Brazilians as he created a few chances within the first half hour. Their biggest chance came on 38’ as Oscar’s free kick from the right sideline swept 4-yards away from the Dutch goal. All it needed was a slight touch from a Brazilian player, one that never came. The half ended up coming to a close with no real bang as Brazil was unable to find the goal that they were looking for.
The second half saw more of the same from the hosts as Thiago Silva’s last ditch tackle on Arjen Robben’s shot in the 49’ was the only thing that kept the game from going to 3-0. Neither team looked to have any real chance and putting another one in until Ramires cleared himself some space from 20-yards only to pull his shot a few feet wide of Cillessen’s far post on 60’.
The Brazilians did look like they came out with more energy, but the absence of Neymar up front was becoming more and more apparent. Brazil was putting more pressure on Holland during the first twenty-five minutes in the second half than they did in the entire first half.
The culmination of the Brazilians efforts were thought to have come to fruition when the referee blew the whistle as Oscar went down in the box, only to award the Chelsea youngster a yellow card for diving. On replays it seemed that the referee got it wrong as Oscar surely looked to be brought down by Daley Blind’s outstretched leg.
The Brazilian embarrassment was complete as Georginio Wijnaldum put away a final goal for the Dutch on 90’. It was once again too easy for the Dutch as Wijnaldum was left wide open from 10 yards out, coolly slotting it home passed Julio Cesar's outstretched legs. The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough for Brazil as the World Cup came to a bitter end. Obviously not close to what they had expected going in, but this team was just not good enough. They will now have four years to do a complete overhaul of the team and come back stronger in Russia.
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