Venue: Port Elizabeth
Competetion : World Cup Live Quarter-Final
Date: Friday, 2 July 2010
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Click Not To Miss Quarter Final
Netherlands vs Brazil Match Live Online Here
Coverage: Television coverage ITV, BBC Radio 5 live, live text commentary on this website
MATCH PREVIEW
The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium hosts the teams ranked first and fourth in the world, in a fascinating quarter-final encounter. Will it be jogo bonito versus total football, or winning ugly at the expense of the beautiful game?
Brazil and the Netherlands have come to South Africa to win, not to entertain. Pragmatic, workmanlike and efficient may be dirty words in both countries, but coaches Dunga and Bert van Marwijk aren't listening. "We came here to win," said Van Marwijk. "If we can win with beautiful football then fine, but I said when I took this job that we would also have to learn how to win ugly games."
You can see Van Marwijk's point. In years gone by, the Dutch would delight and dismay in equal measure, but they head into Friday's match on a all-time national record, 23-game unbeaten run and have won all eight of their games in 2010. The likes of Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart are yet to dazzle in South Africa, but the Dutch defence, cited as the team's weak spot before the tournament, has yet to concede a goal from open play (the two goals scored against them were penalties).
Dunga captained Brazil to World Cup glory in 1994 - beating the Netherlands along the way - with a team that was criticised for its negative approach, and is immune to sniping about his current side, perhaps with good reason. Only Germany and Argentina have scored more goals and, according to Fifa, Brazil have created more goal opportunities than any other side.
Head-to-head
- This will be the 10th meeting between these sides. Brazil have won three to the Netherlands' two, with four draws.
- They have met at the World Cup on three previous occasions: the Netherlands reached the 1974 final thanks to a 2-0 win in the second group stage; Brazil won 3-2 in the 1994 quarter-finals; and the 1998 semi-final ended in a 1-1 draw, with Brazil progressing on penalties.
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