Luiz Felipe Scolari's men have one last chance at claiming a consolation prize at the FIFA World Cup 2014, as they face Netherlands in the third place play-off match on Saturday.
It is now very apparent that they will be taking on a team who seem heavily disinterested in playing the match at all, given how coach Louis Van Gaal and the Dutch players in general feel about losing two matches in a row. Dutch centre forward Arjen Robben, was heard saying this at a press conference "They can keep it. Only one prize counts and that is becoming world champion", which seemed to reflect the entire team's mindset.
"So that's not fair play either," said Van Gaal about the Dutch getting fewer resting days. "But the worst thing is, I believe, that chances are that you lose twice in a row. A tournament where you've played so marvelously well, that you go home as a loser just because you could possibly lose the last two matches. So, this has got nothing whatsoever to do with sports, not in my view."
Brazil, however, share a different sentiment about the game, as they strongly feel they owe to themselves, their countless fans worldwide and also their entire football crazy nation, a better cup ending.
Brazil witnessed a rather harsh ousting from availing a chance at playing at the finals, when they were beaten 7-1 by Germany in the semifinals. Netherlands, who were finalists at the last World Cup, also suffered a similarly harsh fate, although comparatively much less painful, when they were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Argentina in the semifinal.
"We didn't expect such a catastrophic defeat, in terms of the number of goals we conceded. But don't forget that this is the first time the team has reached the World Cup semi-final since 2002. It was a bad defeat, six minutes of total meltdown. If I knew how it happened I'd tell you, but I don't," said Scolari.
Scolari however, seems quite confident of a win and hopes to at least reduce some of the gloom that besieged the nation post their semifinal defeat.
"Life goes on, we need to look forward to our next goal, and our next goal is to win the match for third place. We have to play it. It has become our main goal," added Scolari. "We know that even a win won't take away the disappointment, but we have to have objectives. We couldn't achieve our aim of reaching the final, so now we have to play for a smaller dream."
