Brazil entered the consolation match of the World Cup against the Netherlands looking to salvage some respect after its disastrous loss to Germany.
With not much at stake, the match seemed to provide little opportunity for Brazil and a healthy dose of danger. Lose again and the massive defeat from Germany that dashed the country's hopes of celebrating a World Cup victory on its own soil would only be magnified.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2014/07/11/brazil-germany-world-cup-edited/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhile it was not the 7-1 thrashing that will be talked about for decades, the 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands had the feel of a game that only reopened the wounds of Brazilians that had just begun to heal.
Like the game against Germany, the pain started early. A controversial penalty to the Netherlands in the second minute gave Robin Van Persie the opportunity to bury his fourth goal of the tournament. Not long after, an errant David Luiz header found Daley Blind who made it 2-0 to the Netherlands in only the 16th minute.
The score held for the remainder of the half, as boos and tears chased the Brazilian team into the locker room.
Brazil players leave the stadium with a colossal amount of people booing. Awful performance.— Sergi Domínguez (@FutbolSergi) July 12, 2014
More boos and whistles at halftime. Van Gaal was right, btw: this is a pointless game that serves no one's interest. I hope it's the last.— Claudio (@ClaudiusPrime) July 12, 2014
#BrazilVsNetherlands second-half begins. And #BRA supporters are already crying! Live: http://t.co/JgguGPh4LX pic.twitter.com/nGrPC1qGJg— HT Sports (@HTSportsNews) July 12, 2014
Brazil threatened in the beginning of the second half, taking much of the possession. A shocking decision in the 68th minute, in which Oscar appeared to be fouled inside the box, resulted in the referee giving a yellow card to the Brazilian for diving.
The refereeing decisions were widely criticized, although few seemed to think Brazil deserved a better scoreline.
"The refereeing has been from a parallel universe today" -ESPN presenter just now— Edward Harrison (@edwardnh) July 12, 2014
The ref calling this 3rd place match may never work again. One thing to turn a blind eye, another to intervene wrongly repeatedly.— Jeff Bercovici (@jeffbercovici) July 12, 2014
With the 2-0 score holding past the 85th minute, boos and whistles from the crowd increased.
88 Boos raining down on BRA as NED knock it about, trying to kill off the remaining minutes 0-2— FOX Soccer Trax (@FOXSoccerTrax) July 12, 2014
#WorldCup: Sounds of boos emerging in Brasilia as #BRA down 2 goals vs #NED with 4' to go http://t.co/bjG9TT206g pic.twitter.com/ugBsQ3uh3S— NDTV Sports (@Sports_NDTV) July 12, 2014
And that is that. Netherlands has beat Brazil 3 - 0, and boos are ringing out throughout the stadium.— Vernon DaCosta (@vernondacosta) July 12, 2014
A 90th minute goal from Geroginio Wijnaldum sealed Brazil's humiliation and its tournament. The home team played out the final five minutes of extra time to jeers from the crowd. Brazil and its fans will now hold out hope that their brutal World Cup finish will not be exacerbated by a win from their rivals from Argentina over Germany.
One piece of trivia popped up late in the game after a goalie substitution:
RECORD: Netherlands becomes the FIRST country ever to field all 23 players in a single World Cup.— World Cup 2014 (@WorldCupPosts) July 12, 2014