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World Cup Daily Recap: Brazil and the Netherlands roll on to the Quarterfinals

ROBINHO
BY ADAM SERRANO

There were no surprises in the World Cup on Monday as a powerhouses advanced to set up a fantastic match in the Quarterfinals.

Brazil may not be the "joga bonito" side of old, but in their 3-0 demolition of Chile, the Brazilians provided their fans with a bit of beautiful soccer as Brazil advanced to the quarterfinals. A header by Juan earned the victory, but a pair of goals by Luis Fabiano and Robinho respectively gave the Brazilians a convincing victory.

The Chileans provided the Brazilians with a moment of pause early in the match as they sought to battle with the five-time champions head on. In the 33rd minute, the Brazilians finally broke through when the burly defender Juan headed in a ball on a corner kick past the Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Brazil would finish off their South American rivals only four minutes later.

On a lightning fast counter attack, Luis Fabiano made a brilliant run to stay onside after receiving a brilliant pass from Kaka. The forward dribbled around Bravo and doubled the Brazilians lead by calmly placing it into the back of the net. 

The Chileans bravely tried to match the Brazilians but were clearly outclassed. The Brazilians would add in a third in the 59th when Robinho fired in a fantastic one timer that sealed their fourth consecutive appearance in the Quarterfinals.

Here are the highlights:

ROBBEN RETURNS TO FORM AS DUTCH DEFEAT SLOVAKIA, 2-1

It may not have been dominant, but the Dutch advanced to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 1998 due to goals by Arjen Robben and Wesley Snjeder in a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.

In his first start of the tournament since recovering from a pre-tournament hamstring injury, Robben scored a goal and nearly added several more as he led the Netherlands to a convincing win. The Dutch maestro opened the scoring early in the 18th minute with a trademark cut inside from the right wing and scored on a low precise shot that fell into the right corner of the net.

The Slovakians battled hard to get back into the match, but saw their chances limited. Their persistence forced Maarten Stekelenburg to make a pair of key saves in the 67th Minute. With the Slovaks pushing for the equalizer, the Dutch capitalized and put the game out of reach late. In the 84th minute, Slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha came out of his net and failed to handle the ball on a free kick. The ball fell to Dirk Kuyt who played it across the goalmouth to Snjinder who put the match out of reach.

The Slovaks were able to make the score a bit more respectable when the lead was cut in half in the dying seconds of the match when Slovakia earned a penalty due to a Stekelenburg foul on Robert Vittek in the box. Vittek buried the effort and with the goal became Slovakia's all time leading goalscorer in the World Cup.

Here are the highlights:

Comments

  1. Agreed. What are critics judging on, the number of step overs they do? I thought Chile had a shot a beating Brazil and they got dominated. I Don’t get the complaints, Brazil has usually had a suspect defense and had to score more goals than you, now their defense is strong and people complain. WTF?

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  2. I’m tired of the Brazil winning all the time. It’s time for a new WC winner. You know they’re gonna win in 2014. Go Holland!

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  3. What does Brazil need to do for their play to be considered beautiful? I don’t get it. Shredding Chile 3-0 like they did looked plenty ‘joga bonito’.

    Analysts need to stop repeating the criticisms of the Brazilian squad during qualifying over a year ago and actually judge their current performances truthfully.

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  4. Bielsa has the experience and pedigree to adapt. But more importantly, the USMNT would have to meet him halfway in adapting to his system.

    Formations can be tweaked to suit personnel. Hell, even a 4-5-1 can be an attacking formation if it’s executed right.

    It just be great to have a coach who stressed possession and fast and fluid ball movement.

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  5. agreed..I think the commentators are doing their best to build up this Dutch team but they still aren’t at that championship level, in my opinion. Only time will tell

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  6. I hated Robben’s goal celebration. He just stood there and waited his teammates to come congratulate him.

    Brazil is going to rip them to shreds.

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  7. See, I think 3 defenders would make communication a lot easier. Everyone knows their responsibilities whereas someone in the middle isn’t waiting for the other to mark the dangerous striker.

    Also if we have two defensive mids that sit back and play the 2 of the 3 behind the one. They would provide some possession cover in the center of midfield with 2 wingers who can provide defensive cover and crossing from the wings.

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  8. ya, during the game I said that him and Xavi must be 1a/1b playmakers in the world. Slovakia was a surprisingly strong side I thought, if that oaf had 2 golden chances to tie this game.

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  9. Then again, maybe Donovan and Dempsey could play as forwards. That might be interesting, and it would give us a couple of guys up top who can actually score goals. Hmm.

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  10. Bielsa likes to play a 3-4-3. We struggle to find one capable striker, let alone 3. It would be interesting, but I don’t know. He would have to adjust to our style of players because I don’t see our players having the technical ability to adjust to him.

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  11. That’s funny. This morning I heard on sports radio that Marcelo’s name has already come up as a candidate to coach the US National Team. According to the radio people, Marcelo’s style would be a good fit for the US because he likes players who are disciplined, fit and have heart– among other attributes the US players have.

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  12. Hey IVES off topic. What is the deal with Freddy Adu? Rumor has it he is done in Aris. There is a rumor that has him going to Southamptom. Finley to Europe too? There’s lots of rumors having Finley on trial to a European team. Which one? I’m dying to know. Eric Lichaj also signed a new contract and a chance to fight for a starting spot for Aston. Let’s see if those Southamptom fans I was talking to are right about Adu rumors.

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  13. I say Gulati should talk to Marcelo Bielsa and see if he’d be interested in coaching the USMNT.

    With few marquis names, he was able to implement an attacking, possession oriented system–two obvious areas where the US needs to address.

    Reply

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