Live Match Thread: World Cup Third Place Match - Brazil v Netherlands

In what may be the saddest match of the tournament, the third place match is played tonight.  Both losers of the semifinals face off to see who can be called third best of the World Cup.

Brazil will forever be haunted by their worst loss in nearly a century.  What started as a possible dream of lifting the trophy in their homeland has quickly turned into a nightmare, as Argentina beat the Netherlands and are on the way to the Maracana.  Winning this match will offer the slightest chance of redemption and the opportunity to not totally exit the tournament in a shameful manner in the eyes of the Brazilian public.

The Netherlands had a chance of making their second consecutive World Cup final, only to be thwarted by their own undoing.  Louis Van Gaal played Nigel De Jong, who had to be substituted in the second half due to him not being fully fit.  As the match was a drab 0-0 all the way to the full 120 minutes, Van Gaal had no more substitutions and could not replicate his move of replacing goalkeepers.  Alas, Argentina made all their penalties, while the Dutch missed two.  After the match, the now Manchester United manager shared with the press that two players did not want to take the first penalty and that is why he had to use a central defender for that first kick.

Who: Brazil v Netherlands

Where: Estadio Nacional, Brasilia, Brazil

When: 22.00 CET / 4.00 pm ET / 1.00 pm PT

Inter players featured: Hernanes (Brazil)