Holland vs Brazil

1) What a strange match. Brazil were mostly untroubled by the Dutch in the first half, before seeming to capitulate in the face of very little. Holland looked far better at keeping the ball and countering once Brazil were down to ten men.

2) The main Dutch weapon in this match seemed to be Robben's ability to elicit free kicks and irritate opponents via cheating. He seemed to enrage Bastos into giving a stream of free kicks away, which led to the first goal, and then drew Melo into a stamp which pretty much guaranteed Holland the win. Melo's complete lack of composure after scoring the own goal was absurd, and earns a bat-shit crazy bastard.

3) Who the fuck did Van Bommel sleep with to avoid a yellow card here?

4) Wesley Sneijder is having a curious tournament: his performance level is not consistently high, in that you don't watch him run the games, but he is delivering key moments and deciding matches. Similar to the Dutch overall, I suppose.

5) The only explanation I can come up with regarding Brazil is that they conceeded the first goal too early. The plan was clearly to sit back and wait for the Dutch to become desperate, and then hit on the counter. Holland started the second half with a bit more snap, but still did not commit too many men forward, meaning Brazil still sat back also. Had Melo not ignored Cesar's call/Cesar had called properly, or whatever happened, Brazil would probably have finished the game off on the counter. Such is life. The way that Brazil fell apart after conceeding though (failing to track Kuyt for the second, Melo's stamp) was absurd for a team that seemed so full of characters. Simply put: I, and others, had predicted Brazil as winners based on the fact that their defence seemed resolute and to be improving through the tournament, and that this impregnability fused with quicksilver attacks would mean that at 1-0 late in the game, they would almost always hold firm, and probably add to their lead. Basically, they were not as impregnable as it seemed.

6) Not a great game then, but a momentous and dramatic one, and that was enough on an afternoon off work.