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3. Dutch, as Brazil gets the hook

All that begins well does not end well for the World Cup host
Jasper Cillessen and the Netherlands secured third place at the World Cup without having lost a match at the 2014 tournament. Jo and Brazil, meanwhile, suffered a painful exit Saturday at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil. They lost the third-place match 3-0 and their final two matches by an aggregate 10-1 count.

BRASILIA, Brazil

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

With the result, the Netherlands finishes a World Cup unbeaten in regular play for the first time, having lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals. After finishing runner-up in 2010, the third place is the best position for the Dutch squad since it lost the final in 1974 and 1978.

The loss added to Brazil’s frustration at the home tournament after the disastrous 7-1 defeat to Germany. After the final whistle, the team loudly was booed by the nearly 70,000 fans that attended the match at the National Stadium in Brasilia. Many already had left even 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, (Saturday) 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 ago. 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-footed 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 only gave him a yellow. Silva had missed the semifinal 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 closed the scoring in injury time with a goal from inside the area after a cross by Daryl Janmaat.

“It is a good end,” Robben said. “You can wipe away the hangover (of the lost semifinal). I’m so proud. Compliments to this team. It’s a party to work with this team. We deserved more.”

It was the fourth time Brazil played in a third-place match – now 2-2.

The Netherlands had played in the third-place match one other time, losing in 1998 after being beaten by Brazil in the semifinals.

Dutch head 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 head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari made six changes from the team that started in the loss against Germany, the national team’s worst defeat in its 100-year history.

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