World Cup 2014 TV Schedule: Brazil vs. Netherlands, July 12
Will Brazil be able to recover from its 7-1 loss to Germany and rally against the Netherlands?
Netherlands' Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt warm up during a team training session at the Nacional stadium in Brasilia July 11, 2014, one day before their 2014 World Cup soccer match for third place against Brazil.
Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters
It’s the match no team aims for: third place. After coming so far in the tournament, with two hugely disappointing losses, the Netherlands will take on Brazil at 4:00 p.m. EST at Estádio Nacional de Brasilia in Brasília.
After a defeat that will go in the history books, the big question is whether the Brazilians will come into the match looking to prove themselves?
With key players Neymar and Thiago Silva out against Germany, Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari faced an uphill battle, but no one expected it to be that bad. Mr. Scolari told a press conference on Tuesday,
“If I were to think of my life as a footballer, as a coach, as a physical education teacher, I think it was the worst day of my life. I'm going to be remembered probably because I lost 7-1, the worst defeat in Brazil's history, but that was a risk I knew I was running when I walked into this position.
My message for the Brazilian people and fans is that we tried to do what we could, we lost to a great team who had the skill to end the game in just six or seven minutes with four goals.”
Brazil’s mindset will be key to any chance of victory. The Netherlands comes into this match with the edge.
The Netherlands lost in a close shootout against Argentina, 4-2. The Dutch have never won a World Cup before and this year looks like a step backwards after making it to the finals of the last Cup tournament and losing to Spain 1-0.
Netherlands coach Louis Van Gaal isn’t hiding his frustration at having to play a third place match:
“I think that this match should never be played. I have been saying this for the past 10 years. We will just have to play the game but it is unfair. We will have one day less to recover and that's not fair play. But the worst thing is, I believe, there is a chance that you lose twice in a row in a tournament in which you've played so marvelously well. You go home as a ‘loser’ because possibly you've lost the last two matches.”
The match will air on ESPN and Univision and live streams will be available on each broadcaster’s website.