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29 March 2024

Fifa World Cup 2014 3rd Place Play-off: 'Sad' Brazil players apologise to fans

Published
By Football Correspondent and Agencies

Hosts Brazil lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in their final World Cup match on Saturday and their players apologised to fans after another hugely disappointing performance in the third-place match.

"I don’t think we deserved for it to end like this," captain Thiago Silva said in a televised interview.

"We need to apologise to the fans, they booed us at the end, which is normal, they have feelings too. It's very tough."

Midfielder Oscar looked totally deflated after the defeat, which came just four days after Brazil were crushed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals.

"What can you say. We came here hoping to win third place but we didn't, it wasn't our day,” Oscar said. “We lost, there’s nothing to say.

"We lost a goal in two, three minutes and we were chasing the game.

"We are all very sad, the people are very sad, but we tried and we tried till the end."

Robin van Persie got the first Dutch goal from the penalty spot in the third minute, Daley Blind added a second just 13 minutes later and Georginio Wijnaldum rounded it off with a third in stoppage time.

HEAVY PRICE

Brazil came into the World Cup expecting nothing less than victory but tactical naivety, a lack of emotional preparation and an inability to overcome the loss of two leading players cost them the chance of winning a sixth title.

Having gone 39 years without a competitive home defeat, they suffered two in five days, the 7-1 semi-final loss by Germany their heaviest ever at the World Cup.

They followed up with a feeble 3-0 defeat by the Netherlands in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

"After the 7-1 today's game was very difficult psychologically," captain Thiago Silva said after the Dutch game.

"But we need to look at what we did wrong so we don't make the same mistakes again. Especially when we lose a goal it's like the world has ended and that's not the way it should be. Football changes every minute and you can't fall apart when you lose goals. That's normal, it's natural in football."

The Dutch defeat was bad but it was the humiliation by Germany that will forever scar the Brazilian players and their memories of this World Cup, the first to be played in the country since 1950.

The defence was all at sea, unable to mark, cover or tackle, and a midfield that had looked ponderous throughout the tournament was over-run, with Fernandinho and Luiz Gustavo outnumbered and outsmarted.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari aimed to attack but left his midfield vulnerable and with Neymar out injured, there was no one to create.

"We forgot how to play as a team," former World Cup winner Tostao said in his newspaper column.

"For Felipao (Scolari) and the majority of coaches exchanging passes in midfield is fancy, nicey nice, unproductive. Brazilian football is all about running, lunging, and balls into the air. Because of the contempt we have for midfield we have no great players in that sector."

The result shocked the footballing world.

Brazil were pre-tournament favourites and not just as they were hosts and because no European team have ever won the World Cup in the Americas.

They arrived having won their previous nine matches, with a settled squad and an experienced manager who led them to the World Cup in 2002.

Just one year ago, they won the Confederations Cup in style, winning all five games and handing world and European champions Spain a 3-0 drubbing in the final.

Brazil, though, never really convinced from the moment they went behind to an own goal after 11 minutes of the opening match against Croatia. They won the game 3-1, but needed a suspiciously soft penalty decision to give them the lead.

DEFENSIVELY VULNERABLE


They could not score against a resolute Mexico side in their second game and although they trounced Cameroon 4-1 in the final group match they looked defensively vulnerable against one of the tournament's weakest sides.

They only qualified for the quarter-finals by beating Chile on penalties after a thrillingly close game. Even the 2-1 win over Colombia in the quarter-finals was fraught.

The decisive factor came in that game with the loss through injury and suspension of Neymar and Thiago Silva. Silva got a needless yellow card and that kept him out the semi-final and Neymar's injury, a fractured vertebra, shattered the team's confidence and highlighted their emotional fragility.

Several players had cried uncontrollably after they beat Chile on penalties and they looked visibly shaky at facing the Germans without their biggest asset.

Captain in Thiago Silva's absence, an emotional David Luiz even held aloft Neymar's jersey before the national anthems.

In contrast, the Germans looked cool and collected and when asked why they did not celebrate the 7-1 mauling more expansively, they replied that there was a time and place to show emotions.

Their performance also highlighted Brazil's lack of top-quality players. Unlike the Germans, the Dutch and to a lesser extent Argentina, several of the Brazilian players who started the match were not regular starters for top European sides.

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar plays in Canada, Paulinho struggled last season at Tottenham Hotspur, Bernard and Hulk play in eastern Europe, Luiz Gustavo is at Wolfsburg and center forward Fred is at Fluminense.

If there is a silver lining it is that unlike four years ago, when defeat by the Netherlands prompted a purge of the old guard, Brazil still have a young team and this experience, while bitter, could serve them well in the future.

Neymar is still only 22, midfielders Oscar and Willian are 23 and 25, respectively, and first-choice players Hulk, Luiz Gustavo and Marcelo will still only be 30 or 31 by the time the next World Cup comes around.

Central defensive pairing David Luiz, 27 and Thiago Silva, 30, will have a chance to deepen their understanding by playing together at Paris St Germain starting next season.

Brazil remains the only nation to win the World Cup five times and the team can bounce back. But the rebuilding work must start now.

RAGGED

Another ragged defensive display by Brazil allowed the Netherlands to stroll to a 3-0 victory in the World Cup third-place playoff match on Saturday as the hosts ended the tournament in depressing fashion.

The Dutch had failed to score in the four hours of their previous two knockout games but were gifted two goals in the opening 16 minutes. The first came when Thiago Silva, back from suspension, was lucky to escape a red card as he pulled back Arjen Robben in the area and Robin van Persie converted the penalty after three minutes.

A terrible clearance header by David Luiz then dropped invitingly for Daley Blind to hammer in the second and Brazil, with six changes to the team humiliated 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals, rarely looked like getting back into the game with another disjointed performance.

They did exert some pressure in the second half but still failed to seriously test Dutch keeper Jasper Cillessen and the boos rang out when the unmarked Georginio Wijnaldum turned in the third goal in stoppage time.

Having gone 39 years without a competitive home defeat, Brazil have now suffered two in five days.

Germany will play Argentina in the final on Sunday.

FULL TIME

Brazil 0 Netherlands 3 (Van Persie 3"-pen Blind 17" Wijnaldum 90+1")

90+1" GOAL! Wijnaldum seals Brazil's misery by firing inside the right post after Robben sends the overlapping Janmaat who cut back a pass to the PSV forward.

90" Clasie is replaced by Veltman as five minutes are added for stoppages.

86" Robben's corner is punched away by Cesar rather unconvincingly.

85" Hulk's free kick is headed away by Wijnaldum.

84" Willians earns a free kick after jinking run on the right.

82" Robben tumbles after a challenge from Fernandinho but does not get a penalty this time.

81" Willians crosses but Cillessen leaps to collected comfortably.

79" Vlaar seems to be standing in the way of almost every Brazil attack with Oscar losing out again after finding space inside the area.

77" Hulk muscles his way into the area but can't beat the last defender.

79" Hulk's shot from the top of the area swings out wide.

74" Robben is foiled after a surging run into the area.

72" Brazil make their final change as Hulk replaces Ramires and wins a corner instantly which is taken quickly but runs away for a goal kick.

70" Blind is substituted by Janmaat.

68" YELLOW! Oscar is booked for allegedly diving after a lunging tackle from Blind with the referee waving away penalty appeals from the Brazilians.

67" Luiz lets fly with a long range effort from the left which is way off target.

65" Vlaar foils an attempt from Oscar to latch onto a through ball into the box.

63" Maicon earns a free kick after a great run through the middle but the free kick from Luiz is collected by Cillessen.

62" Brazil are enjoying 58% of possession but Cillessen has hardly been troubled.

60" Ramires gets a lucky break in the midle by hits his shot wide of the left post.

58" Robben is felled by another jarring tackle from substitute Hernanes.

57" Brazil make their second change with Hernanes coming on for Paulinho.

54" YELLOW! Fernandinho is booked for a nasty foul on Van Persie who is winded by the tackle.

53" Fernandinho's long ball is poorly directed.

51" Brazil counter with Paulinho breaking through the middle before being foiled by Vlaar.

50" Robben makes an incisive run at the Brazil defence before smashing against a defender.

49" Ramires makes a break but loses the ball after being closed down by two defenders. The corner comes to nothing.

47" Maxwell swings in a left-wing cross towards Paulinho who is flagged offside.

46" Fernandindho comes on for Gustavo in the only change at the break from either side.

HALF-TIME

Brazil 0 Netherlands 2 (Van Persie 3"-pen Blind 17")

45" Two minutes have been added and Dutch are in possession but De Guzman's cross into the box is poor.

45" Oscar takes the kick and rams into the wall with Maxwell sending the rebound over the bar.

43" Ramires is hauled down by Vlaar and Brazil get another free kick from dead centre.

41" Van Persie fires a salvo at Cesar with Thiago Silva taking cover.

39" Kuyt is down and has to receive treatment for a head injury.

38" Oscar floats in a superb free kick from the right but Gustavo, Paulinho and Luiz all fail to flick it into goal.

36" YELLOW! De Guzman is booked for a tackle on Oscar who was on a lovely break.

34" Maicon earns a free kick on the edge of the area and Oscar wicked free kick is nodded away by Martins Indi for a corner.

32" A Robben free kick is headed away by Jo before Van Persie fires a tame shot at Cesar.

30" Robben tries to get onto a long ball down the right but it is too over hit.

29" Oscar's free kick is floated across goal but Luiz heads it wide.

28" A nice bout of passing between Maicon, Willian and Oscar earn Brazil a free kick from the edge of the area on the right.

26" Brazil are forced to fall back despite getting a free kick in the centre.

25" Kuyt's cross from the right is wayward and goes for a goal kick.

24" Paulinho concedes a free kick after sustained pressure from the Dutch.

23" Willian floats a great ball into the box and Oscar glides through but cannot control the ball.

21" Cillessen forced into a save as Oscar sidesteps inside and drills a long-range effort.

19" Ramires tries to get into the box from the right but he is tackled and the ball runs out for a goal kick.

Brazil 0 Netherlands 2 (Van Persie 3" pen Blind 17")

17" GOAL! Luiz is the culprit as Daley Blind volleys into the roof of the net after De Guzman's cross is headed back into his path.

12" Oscar floats a long ball to Willian who wins a throw-in.

11" Oscar catches Kuyt napping after Maxwell whipping in a cross before Bruno Martins Indi foils Brazil from advancing.

9" Luiz threads a long ball which goes straight to Cillessen.

8" YELLOW! Robben finally gets a booking for a simulating a dive.

7" Robben makes another dash and sends a ball through the middle but it goes straight to Cesar.

6" Oscar breaks and fires in a great cross but Ramires fails to latch onto it.

Brazil 0 Netherlands 1 (Van Persie 3" pen)

3" PENALTY! Robin van Persie slots the kick from the spot in the right corner.

2" YELLOW! Thiago Silva is booked for pulling back Robben who was put clear by Van Persie. Replays show it was just outside the box but the referee pointed to the spot.

1" Brazil are in their familiar yellow and the Dutch in a less familiar blue get the match underway.

Sneijder pulled up with an injury during the warm-up forcing a last-minute change for Holland with Jonathan De Guzman starting in his place.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made six changes to his starting lineup for Saturday's World Cup third-place match against the Netherlands, with Jo coming in to replace Fred at center forward.

Captain Thiago Silva returns to the center of defense after missing the 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany through suspension, while Maxwell replaces Marcelo at left back.

Scolari also dropped Hulk, Bernard and Fernandinho and deployed Ramires, Willian and Paulinho instead as Brazil seek to recover some pride against the 2010 runners-up, who lost to Argentina on penalties in Wednesday's second semi-final.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal made a single change from the Argentina game, replacing Nigel de Jong with the more attack-minded Jordy Clasie in midfield.

TEAMS

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Thiago Silva (captain), David Luiz, Paulinho, Oscar, Maxwell, Ramires, Luis Gustavo, Willian, Jo, Maicon.

Netherlands: Cillessen, Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind, Van Persie (captain), Sneijder, Robben, Kuyt, Clasie, Wijnaldum.

PREVIEW

Hosts Brazil are determined to end their home World Cup with a victory against the Netherlands in Saturday's third place playoff and try and move on from the humbling 7-1 defeat by Germany in the last four.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will welcome back skipper Thiago Silva for the clash at the Brasilia national stadium against the Dutch, who are also grieving after missing out on a place in the final following a penalty shootout defeat by Argentina.

Departing Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal previously said he thought the third-place match was a waste of time but he is now targeting victory to ensure his team become the first Dutch side to go through a World Cup unbeaten in regulation time.

However, both Van Gaal and Scolari would much rather be in Rio de Janeiro where Germany and Argentina are going through their final preparations for Sunday's final at the Maracana.

'HONOUR AND DIGNITY'

The Brazil players could not be more motivated ahead of Saturday's World Cup third-place match against the Netherlands and will be fighting to restore their "honour and dignity", captain Thiago Silva said on Friday.

Brazil's dream of winning a sixth World Cup, and a first on home soil, was shattered when Germany destroyed them 7-1 in Tuesday's semi-final, while the Dutch were beaten on penalties by Brazil's arch South American rivals Argentina.

Although third place would be scant consolation, Thiago Silva said the players would try to lift the spirits of a nation still in shock after their team's unprecedented mauling.

They also have a chance to gain revenge on the Dutch, who knocked them out in the quarter-finals in South Africa four years ago.

"We have the highest possible level of motivation," Thiago Silva, who missed the Germany game through suspension, told a news conference at the national stadium in Brasilia.

"Obviously we have a different goal now and it's not first place we are fighting for but our honor and dignity," added the central defender.

"When you wear that shirt with the five stars on the front you have to respect it.

"I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about this World Cup and about the final at the Maracana (on Sunday) but it was not to be."

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said he planned to make "a few changes" from the team that started against Germany to reward players who had not featured or had little time on the pitch at the finals.

Scolari has received backing from the president-elect of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) despite Tuesday's shocking reverse but did not reveal whether he intended to stay on or step down after the World Cup.

"We have to send an optimistic message to our supporters," Scolari said of Saturday's game.

"We are still among the four best teams and it's not the end of the world.

"We have tried to lift the players and look on the Netherlands game as our main dream now.

"At least we have a chance to give the Brazilian people a bit of joy."