Netherlands pulled off one of the big upsets of the World Cup at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, rebounding from a dreadful first half to send five-time World Cup winner Brazil packing 2-1 in a game that will be remembered as a classic.
It’s been 36 years since Holland beat Brazil in a World Cup match, and the Dutch must hope that history doesn’t repeat itself. Back in 1974 it downed Brazil 2-0 in Dortmund, then went on to cement its dubious title as the best team never to win the World Cup by losing 2-1 to West Germany in the final. The Dutch would come second best again in 1978 to a team it may well now be on course to meet in the finals after today’s performance: Argentina.
But let’s put that aside for a moment and focus on what happened today in a wild match that justifiably ranks up there with not only other great Holland-Brazil clashes, but all-time great World Cup games. For a Cup that desperately needed a game of this type, it was a welcome reminder of the caliber of football a World Cup can deliver — and a sad comment on how little good football we’ve actually seen.
For 45 minutes, Brazil looked as good a team as any we’ve seen, playing a completely riveting passing game that kept the Dutch penned into their own half of the field, and made Robinho the focal point of a vicious, swinging attack. For the next 45 minutes, Brazil played a foul-happy, disjointed match that saw Felipe Melo rightly ejected and the golden boys crashing out.
It was gripping, and it was curious. Rarely do you see Brazil lose its collective cool — and even rarer to see the kind of anti-football display shown in the second half by men wearing yellow and blue.
What happened is simple, in retrospect: Dunga’s tactics failed. His game plan depended on having Michel Bastos foul Arjen Robben whenever the Dutch star came near the ball. It was startling decision that signaled the manager was not convinced his forwards could carry the day against the Dutch back line.
But, after the left back was carded in the 37th minute, the increasingly erratic performance of referee Yuichi Nishimura convinced Dunga that his team would be reduced to 10 men, so he subbed Bastos for Gilberto Melo. Without Bastos there to hijack Robben, the Dutch gradually grew stronger, ultimately seeing Felipe Melo stomp on the Bayern Munich star and earn the ejection his manager had feared.
Felipe Melo’s night mirrored that of his entire team. In the 10th minute, he sent a pass that split the Dutch defense, racing by eight players, to find Robinho, who ran onto it to score the opener. It was a dramatic start for the South Americans, who would run out the half looking by far the better of the two sides.
But disaster struck Felipe Melo when, in the 53rd, a routine cross in by Wesley Sneijder ricocheted off his head, past the charging Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, and into the back of the net. Felipe Melo actually impeded his own goalie, preventing him from making the save, and after that moment Brazil never settled.
Melo then aided the Dutch on their game-winner, leaving Sneijder open on a corner flicked on by Dirk Kuyt. Five minutes later, he was grinding his spikes into Robben’s hamstring, and was on his way to an early bath.
Credit also must be given to a game-changing save made by Maarten Steklenburg just past the half-hour mark. Robinho and Luis Fabiano combined brilliantly to set up Kaka with a back-heel that the striker took in full stride to blast at the Dutch goal. Stekelenburg made an almost impossible one-handed stop on a ball that by rights should have already been puffing the net. In making that save, he kept the Dutch in the game, and on course to recover. Had he not, it is likely that the Netherlands would be the team heading home.
Tomorrow
The semifinals will be set. Germany face Argentina at Cape Town (10:00 a.m. ET) in a game that could also offer a classic script. Paraguay see Spain in Johannesburg (2:30 p.m. ET) in the late match.
Must-see TV
Germany-Argentina is clearly the one to watch. The matchups are compelling: Germany’s Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller must have big games against their counterparts Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano in the middle. Up front, Miroslav Klose and Lucas Podolski must produce as much as Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain have for the Argentines. Both defenses can be breached: Argentine Sergio Romero hasn’t been real solid in the net and Martin Demichelis is a liability. German keeper Manuel Neuer has been OK, but Per Mertesacker is an accident waiting to happen. It’s pretty even in this one.
