Boos for Brazil in 3-0 defeat to Dutch in third-place game

Robin van Persie and Daley Blind scored early goals to help give the Netherlands a 3-0 win over hosts Brazil in the third-place match at the World Cup on Saturday.

With the result, the Netherlands finish unbeaten in regular play in the World Cup for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semi-finals. After finishing runners-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since they lost the final in 1978.

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The loss added to Brazil’s frustration at the home tournament following the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the players were loudly booed by the nearly 70,000 fans who attended the match at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasilia. Many had already left before the late third goal by the Dutch.

“It’s a terrible feeling, I don’t know what to say,” Oscar said. “After a huge loss to Germany, today we tried our best from the beginning to win third place but it wasn’t our day. We have to see what went wrong so we can improve for the future.”

Van Persie converted a penalty kick three minutes into the match after Arjen Robben was brought down by Brazil captain Thiago Silva on the edge of the area. Blind added to the lead in the 17th with a shot from near the penalty spot after defender David Luiz made a mistake while trying to clear a cross in front of the goal. Georginio Wijnaldum rounded off the win in injury time with a shot inside the near post.

“The most beautiful was our resilience. We were knocked out but we came back and finished third,” Wijnaldum said. “We wanted to close it out well.”

Brazil looked lost from the start, making many of the same defensive mistakes that marked the historic defeat to the Germans four days previous. The Netherlands took advantage with quick passes and speed in the attack.

Silva had to foul Robben after being beaten on the run, leading to Van Persie’s firm left-foot shot into the right upper corner to put the Dutch ahead.

The Dutch wanted a red card for Silva for a professional foul, but Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi showed him a yellow. Silva had missed the semi-final against Germany because of a yellow-card suspension.

Blind added to the lead after Luiz failed to clear a cross, heading the ball right back to the Dutch defender for an easy goal.

Wijnaldum scored after a cross by Daryl Janmaat.

“It was a great end,” Robben said. “You can get rid of a bit of the shock of not going to the final, but not completely. The disappointment stays. We’ve been so close. We deserved more.

“I’m finished, I’ve given everything. We’ve come so close. That’s why the third place is so deserved. I’m so proud of this team, compliments to them.”

Brazil’s best chance in the first half came on a free kick taken by Oscar in the 36th, but Silva and Luiz were not able to reach the low cross in front of goal. In the second, Ramires came close with a low right-foot shot from the top of the area in the 60th.

Brazil wanted a penalty when Oscar went down in the area in the 68th, but the referee instead gave a yellow card to the Brazilian for diving.

“It’s frustrating,” Silva said. “We didn’t deserve to have it end like this. But, unfortunately, it’s football. I have to apologise to our people. The fans supported us even during the 7-1 loss and again today. They booed in the end, but it was normal. They have feelings, too.”

It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match. They beat Sweden in 1938 and Italy in 1978, and lost to Poland in 1974.

The Netherlands had played in the third-place match once before. They fell to Croatia 2-1 in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semi-finals.

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal, in his final match with the Netherlands before joining Manchester United, had to play without midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who was injured while warming up for the game.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made six changes from the team that started in the loss against Germany, the national team’s worst defeat since losing 6-0 to Uruguay in 1920.

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