Netherlands-Brazil - Latest

Quarterfinal
Friday 2 July 2010 - 16h00 CET
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

Friday, 2 July 2010

Send us your view on the game

18h06 - What an incredible match, what an incredible result. It wasn't good, it wasn't sparkling, but again there was a result. 2-1 after it all seemed hopeless after 45 minutes

17h57 - YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS

16h59 - Back after the game

16h59 - Our prediction?.... uhm... 3-2 to Holland!

16h59 - We'll see. We are still high hopes

16h58 - Apart from that substitution Holland should play more compact and put a lot more pressure on the ball

16h57 - We suggest Huntelaar for Van Bronckhorst, pull Kuyt back a bit to contain Maicon and hope for Huntelaar to do better than Van Persie

16h56 - What to do in the second half?

16h55 - And what was the story with this Robben corner?!

16h53 - The Dutch pundits are basically saying what we said before

16h51 - If Holland do not seriously improve the next 45 minutes will be the last of Holland in the World Cup

16h50 - Heitinga, Van Bronckhorst, Van der Wiel, Van Persie and Sneijder (!) are far below their usual level

16h49 - And there are a number of Dutch players who don't seem to have noticed the game has started

16h49 - The Dutch lines are too far apart and give the Brazilians too much room to get inbetween them

16h48 - Brazil are all over us and they deserve to be 1-0 (or more) up. The Dutch center of defense is an open stage

16h47 - Oh dear...

15h56 - We're going to leave you now and secure our spot in the room next door. We'll be back at half-time with an update on hopefully all the Dutch goals

15h55 - The captains speak out for fair play and against discrimination

15h53 - They're coming out, our orange-clad street is deserted

15h52 - It's a major setback for Holland, but of course a great chance for Ooijer, who doesn't have a new club yet for next season

15h51 - Here it is: Ooijer will play

15h50 - Still no definitive word on Mathijsen...

15h42 - It's like what Slovak coach Vladimir Weiss said: "We trained for three day to defend against Robben". Still Robben scored in spite of three defenders and a goal keeper trying to deny him.

15h39 - Brazilian pundits compare Robben to Garrincha: "You know what he will do and there's still no stopping him"

15h38 - Mathijsen has gone back to the dressing room. Van Marwijk is talking to his defenders, Ooijer is doing the warm-up with the team

15h36 - Mathijsen swallowed 'some pills'. Pain killers?

15h35 - That would be a big blow for Holland. Mathijsen is very important for the Dutch buildup. Ooijer has played few games this season.

15h34 - André Ooijer has started to warm-up. So Mathijsen is uncertain!

15h33 - Joris Mathijsen has injured himself during the warm-up

15h29 - Van Persie and Gilberto Silva were team mates at Arsenal and of course Sneijder and Robben know Kaká and Robinho from their days at Real Madrid

15h28 - Of course Sneijder knows three Brazilian players very well, as they are team mates at Inter: Maicon, Lucio and Cesar.

15h25 - Sneijder says Brazilian goal keeper Julio Cesar has one weakness: high crosses from the wings and set pieces

15h22 - "This match is the real final," says Joe from New York

15h19 - That means several Dutch players might be holding back a bit in their challenges

15h19 - Only two Brazilians have a yellow card to their name

15h18 - The yellow cards could be a factor today. In the Dutch starting lineup seven players are in danger of a one-game-suspension when they get another booking.

15h17 - The Dutch team looked relaxed, but not yet in a party mood. What's with all these iPods?

15h16 - The Brazilian team looked very tense when they got off the boss

15h15 - Have you all gone away?

15h13 - So Brazil will be: Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Bastos, Silva, Melo, Kaká, Robinho, Alves and Fabiano

15h12 - So Felipe Melo will play. That is good news for Dunga

15h11 - Dany Alves will replace Elano

15h11 - Robben will start on the right, Kuyt on the left

15h09 - But okay, both teams will suffer from this.

15h08 - How can it be that a match at this venue, at this stage is played on a cropfield?

15h07 - The pitch is a shambles!

15h06 - Holland will play in their orange jerseys

15h00 - 60 minutes to kickoff

14h56 - Holland have a positive record against South American teams at the World Cup. They played 10, won 3, drew 4 and lost 2. Twice did a game go into overtime and once the game was decided on penalties.

14h55 - Brazil have won their last ten games. They kept a clean sheet in 33 of these 59 games

14h53 - Brazil won 42 of the 59 games under Dunga. They scored 125 and conceded 37.

14h52 - It's odd that Brazil conceded two goals in each of these five defeats: Portugal in 2007 (0-2), Mexico in 2007 (0-2), Venezuela in 2008 (0-2), Paraguay in 2008 (0-2) and Bolivia in 2009 (1-2). Is there a rule in football that says Brazil never concede more than two?

14h44 - Since Carlos Dunga took over in July 2006 Brazil have played 59 games and lost only five.

14h43 - Looking at Brazil's statistics we have to be impressed

14h42 - We see only one problem in this team: Holland's captain Van Bronckhorst. He's older, a bit slower, and he never was a defender. Let's hope all his experience can drag him through.

14h40 - The presumable lineup has been confirmed, so it's Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Mark van Bommel, Nigel de Jong, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie.

14h37 - We have been thinking that as well, Ken. At the next World Cup he will be 30 and for a wide player that is fairly old. So if ever he wants to shine on the highest stage, the moment is now!

14h36 - "Robben will be unstoppable today. This is the game that can make or break his career," says Ken from Jacksonville, Florida

14h33 - Van Bommel, Heitinga, Robben, Kuyt, Van Persie, Stekelenburg are really no shorties...

14h33 - But are the Brazilians really that much stronger?

14h32 - Many American newspapers are focussing on Brazil's physical strength and that that could be decisive. That might be a big factor in American Football, but in real football it's much less of a factor.

14h30 - Just 90 more minutes to kickoff! We're starting to get a bit excited...

14h26 - Your name is means 'knowledge' Sofia. Live up to it!

14h25 - "It will be Brazil and it will be Brazil only," writes Sofia from Santa Catarina, Brazil.

14h18 - But Holland's winning streak is incredible anyway. They have won all competitive games (8 qualifiers and 4 at the finals) under Bert van Marwijk and they have gone unbeaten for 23 consecutive games. Their last defeat dates back to September 2008 (1-2 against Australia in a friendly).

14h16 - Holland would set a new record if they beat Brazil: winning five games in a row at the World Cup. Three times they have now won four in a row (1974, 1998 and 2010) the first two times they did so, they reached the semis....

14h06 - Some people are asking which jerseys Holland will be wearing. We don't know yet. It's technically a home game for Holland, so they can choose their own colors (Orange or white). Neither color seems conflicting with either the yellow or blue of Brazil.

13h59: Wenger also says he is impressed with Holland, but today's game is tough. "They haven't been tested yet by a strong South American team."

13h56 - "Robin is doing very well, but that doesn't surprise me. We all know just how good he is," Wenger says.

13h54 - Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger thinks Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben could decide today's game

13h51 - Are there really people called Yogi Bear in China?

13h45 - "So we have a Brazilian team playing European and a Dutch team playing South American. I hope you guys can win it!" says Yogi Bear from Chengxi in China.

13h40 - Van Marwijk does not want to make the mistakes England made against Germany. "They were caught out by a quick counter a few times. It was four against two on one of the goals. That can not happen against Brazil"

13h35 - Dutch and Brazilian fans are partying together on the beach in Port Elizabeth. At a sunny 23°C the atmosphere must be fantastic.

13h33 - "Holland must play Elia (he so cute) and not Kuyt" says Qui from Hanoi. It's not a beauty contest Qui .

13h27 - Does anyone remember the Olympic hockey final? Canada were in it and the referees were Canadian... No problem.

13h26 - For that's the motivation of FIFA: no referee from the same continent.

13h23 - Would Howard Webb or this Argentinean bloke (one of the best we've seen) really be partial?

13h22 - The referee is from Japan. It will be his fourth match of this tournament, and he is the only professional referee present. One question is whether he can handle the level. He has never led a game in the Champions League.

13h18 - To some of our readers: we speak a few foreign languages, but sadly Thai, Japanese and Russian are not among them . Please write in English, French, Spanish, German or Dutch

13h13 - "The Dutch defense will be exposed today. Heitinga is your weakest link," says Dietrich from Dubai.

13h11 - The Brazilian fans are outnumbering the Dutch fans around the stadium at the moment

13h08 - It's sunny and there's not as much wind as predicted in Port Elizabeth at the moment. The temperature is about 23°C at the moment.

13h07 - Will Van Marwijk instruct Dirk Kuyt to go after him? Or will Kuyt just stay in his zone and let Van Bronckhorst and De Jong deal with Maicon when he comes forward?

13h06 - Another big question is just how Holland will contain Maicon.

13h05 - Will Dunga adapt the same tactics as Mourinho? We think not.

13h01 - But Jose Mourinho had basically dedicated his tactics to denying Robben, who was minded by three players throughout the game.

12h59 - It's true: Robben will be key to the chances of Van Marwijk's side. The Bayern winger played one poor (important) game this season: the Champions League final against Inter.

12h56 - Luke from Adelaide, Australia says "All will depend on Arjan Robben"

12h47 - Is there any chance Brazil will underestimate Holland?

12h46 - But we think being the underdog is just fine

12h44 - Reading through the World's media this morning it seems no one gives Holland a real chance

12h42 - It will be a hot game on a very hot day in Holland. Temperatures are expected to rise to well over 30°C today.

12h40 - Dutch fans are confident!

12h38 - Find the latest updates of several Dutch media on this page