Holland Vs. Brazil World Cup 2010 Live Blog: Results, Scores, and Analysis

My heart goes out to anyone who is unfortunate enough to have to miss what is going to be one of the best games of the tournament without a doubt.

Of course, I will be here with up-to-date commentary, with a sprinkle of humorous comments to help you all along.

This game is going to be a cracker, pure and simple. A lot of people picked Holland to go far and possibly win the whole thing, while Brazil are..... well they are Brazil, and that is all the incentive that the Brazilians need. They know the mark that has been set for them by their predecessors.

Holland have not been tested in the World Cup yet, and their route to the competition was without a doubt one of the easiest as well.

Brazil has showed signs of greatness in previous matches and their highly acclaimed defense will be given its first major test.

Full-time Synopsis:

This game promised quality and drama, and oh, did it ever deliver.

The first-half was a great showcase of football as Brazil really turned on the style and showed some great pieces of attacking football.

Brazil then shot themselves in the foot by terrible mistakes by Julio Cesar, Juan, and Melo to hand Holland qualification.

Holland will be delighted that they are through, but again, they did so without really showing any great quality. Robben was a strong point for the Dutch, but Holland were far from impressive.

Brazil had their feet in the semi-finals and then hit the self-destruct button and are now traveling home.

93: The game is over and Brazil are out. What a shock!

91: Van Bommel is very lucky not to have picked up a yellow card after three or four bad tackles in a row.

90: Three minutes of additional time and Holland look to have the game settled.

87: Brazil looked tired, and the game just looks like it is going to dwindle to a close.

84: Holland really should have wrapped this game up. Van Persie failed to pull the trigger and Sneijder's shot was weak and easily saved by Cesar.

Holland Sub: Huntelaar comes on to replace Van Persie.

83: Brazil are striving forward, and there are more goals in this game, be it an equalizer or a third for Holland.

80: Brazil has been their own worst enemy. Cesar, who has not put a foot wrong, came out and gifted Holland hope. Then poor defending and an act of selfish stupidity by Melo may have caused Brazil their sixth World Cup title.

78: Holland broke with a great chance as Brazil had committed men forward. They were unable to make it three as Cesar rushed out to prevent any further damage.

75: Brazil thought their luck had changed. The ref was running over to book Ooijer and the red card fell out of his pocket. Many though he was going, but it was just a yellow.

Brazil Sub: Fabiano makes way for Nilmar. Luis Fabiano has done very little in-front of goal. 

73: He is off! Melo has just been sent off for stamping on Arjen Robben.

Melo tripped Robben to the ground, and then as Robben was on the ground Melo stamped on the Dutchman's tight.

Brazil are down to ten men and Holland lead 2-1, and Dunga's plan is starting to unravel.

67: Drama!!! Holland have got the second.

Sneijder got the flick on from Kuyt and sent the ball past Cesar with his head. Brazil are in shock.

A poor clearance from Juan set-up the corner that lead to Holland's second.

65: What an effort! Kaka nearly put his team back in-front. Maicon's cross was poorly cleared by Ooijer. The ball fell to Kaka, who tried to curl it past Stekelenburg, but just sent it wide.

63: Holland were claiming for a penalty as the ball came off Lucio's hand. The call would have been very harsh as a sliced shot from Sniejder came up and off Lucio's hand. There was no intent from the centre-half.

De Jong pulled back Robinho and has been booked for it. Due to that booking, De Jong would be excluded from the team due to suspension. 

61: Brazil Sub: Gilberto Melo has came on to replace Bastos.

Dunga has made a smart move there. Bastos is already on a yellow and he has been in the thick of it with Robben. All of the Dutch chances have really came down their right against Bastos.

60: Holland have really came alive since being gifted a goal. Confidence is up with the guys in orange and they feel like they can take this game.

56: It is a real shame that Brazil would allow Holland back into the game under such dreadful circumstances.

If a piece of brilliance beats your team, that is acceptable, but to give up a lead with such a silly mistake must hurt deeply.

52: Its all square! Julio Cesar has gifted Holland a goal.

Sneijder whipped a ball in, Cesar came to claim the ball and completely missed it. Brazil's keeper has gifted Holland a way back into this tie.

48: I am not sure how football is played in Africa but people really need to tell the ball-boys that football requires just one ball on the pitch.

The number of times games have been held up because there has been an extra ball on the pitch is ridiculous.

46: Van Der Wiel was just booked for diving, and if Holland do manage to go through, the eight-back will miss the game due to suspension.

Such an idiotic thing to do.

45: Brazil get the second-half going.

First-half Synopsis:

Football has been shown for its great quality and flair so far today. Great passing, possession, and free-flowing attacking moves have been on show.

Brazil have defended brilliantly, and Holland have been lost for ideas on how to break them down.

The South Americans have played very well despite the pitch starting to cause some problems.

Robinho, Kaka, Alves, and Maicon has all been in great form and have a joy to watch. Robben has had some chances against Bastos, but he is limited by the fact he has to come inside and Brazil are crowding him out.

Holland are unfortunate to lose Mathijsen during the warm-up and they have paid the price.

45: Great defending from Brazil. Robben was one-on-one with the last defender, who was smart enough to give Robben the outside and not allow him to come in on his left.

His buddies got back and crowed Robben out. The whistle blows and Brazil go in with the 1-0 lead.

43: Holland are being out-muscled by the South American's all over the pitch. Fabiano and Kaka are shrugging off challenges left, right and centre.

40: Robinho has been the man of the moment for Brazil thus far, but Kaka, without playing at his highest level of brilliance, is starting to show some signs of finding top form.

His passing has been much slicker and he has been making some great runs off the ball.

Dani Alves has also impressed me with his effort thus far in the game.

38: The referee has somewhat killed the flow to the game with a number of silly decisions.

Brazil and Holland to their credit are still producing nice, flowing football.

36: A long-shot from a free-kick was well saved from Cesar and Holland has really failed to create anything of significant danger.

Bastos gives away a free-kick and is shown a yellow card, the first the be issued to a Brazilian.

34: Dani Alves showed great awareness. Robben was about to take a corner and then slightly rolled the ball and ran away from the corner.

The ball was back in play, but Robben tried to pretend that the Dutch were changing players for the kick.

Alves seen the danger and ran over and won a free-kick for his team off Sneijder.

33: The Brazil attackers are all like Happy Gilmore, they just want to see the ball go home!

30: It deserved a goal! Robinho, Fabiano, and Kaka all showed great flair, ball control, and skill. The Dutch keeper all, 6"4' of him, had to be at full-stretch to tip away Kaka's curling shot.

The move of the game so far, and it was only a great save that prevented Kaka his first goal.

29: Van Bommel showed great strength and determination as he battled back to knock the ball away from Maicon who would have been through on goal if not for his efforts.

Great play.

27: The vuvu crew are letting themselves be heard as the noise is deafening. The tele may have to go on mute if that continues.

25: What a chance! Dani Alves twisted and turned Kuyt inside out on the right-side of the Dutch box. His cross was meet by Juan who was coming across the Dutch 6 yard box, and his shot just went over the bar.

Centre-half or not, he really should have scored. 

22: Great defending from Brazil stopped Robben from letting one rip from the edge of the box.

Bastos was caught on the wrong side of Robben, but the Brazilian defense crowded him out and won possession back.

20: The pitch is holding up better than I expected which is great to see, as both of these teams are been giving the best possible chance to play at their optimum level.

16: Holland's best chance of attacking success looks like coming down the right winger against Brazil's left-back Bastos.

The Dutch have failed to really create a good chance of yet, though.

This is the type of football that people fall in love with. It is easy to understand why football in Brazil is like a religion.

14: Brazil have definitely started the strong of the two. When in possession, they have played well, but Holland have been unable to hold the Brazilian attack, and Robinho has been a massive threat.

12: The first yellow card foes to Heitinga. The Dutch defender kicked Fabiano as he tried to turn away from him.

09: And its there! Gooooaaalll. His first was denied, but his second will not be.

Robinho made a great run off his marker, and a great long-pass along the ground allowed Robinho to go one-on-one against the Dutch keeper and there was only one outcome.

Just what the game needed, an early goal.

07: Brazil carved the Dutch open, only for Robinho's goal to be disallowed.

Dani Alves received the ball, and was fractionally offside, but the flag went up very late by the linesman.

The game has lived up to expectations thus far in the early minutes.

05: Brazil are stringing some great passes together in tight spaces. Very attractive on the eyes.

Both teams are passing quite well when in possession, just the final ball is lacking.

03: Van Bommel dove to the ground like he was just shot, despite very little contact from Melo. That is the second free-kick Holland have won after minimal contact.

The first was won by Robben after he went to ground after a challenge from Alves.

02: The atmosphere is electric in the stadium, but once again there is still empty seats, which is just baffling to think at this stage of the tournament.

00: Holland get the game started in the shade of the stadium

Two minutes until kickoff: Brazil are playing as the designated away team and therefore are wearing their blue strip, which is, I must say, one of my personal favorite jerseys.

A late change to the Dutch set up as Oojier has to come in to replace Mathijsen who picked up an injury. The is a big loss for Holland.

Four minutes until kickoff: The teams are just coming out onto the pitch and I am salivating in anticipation for this game. My keyboard and fingers are covered in drool.

My one concern for this game is the state of the pitch. It looks very uneven, and it looks quite likely that it will cut-up once play begins.

30 minutes until kickoff: Both teams have named starting line-ups without any great change. Ramires' suspension has forced Brazil manager Dunga into bringing Felipe Melo back into the fold.

A major concern for Holland is that seven of their starting 11 are going into this game with a yellow card to their name. Only Sneijder, V. Bommel, Heitinga, and Mathijsen are without yellow cards.

Brazil only have Kaka, Fabiano, Juan, and Melo in trouble of missing the next game if they pick up a yellow card today.

Team News:

Holland: 4-2-3-1

Stekelenburg

Van Der Wiel - Heitinga - Ooijer - V. Bronckhorst

V. Bommel - De Jong

Kuyt - Sneijder - Robben

V. Persie

One To Watch: Arjen Robben

Brazil: 4-4-2

Julio Cesar

Maicon - Lucio - Juan - Bastos

Alves - Silva - Kaka - Melo

Robinho - Fabiano

One To Watch: Kaka

Prediction:

This game has all the makings of being a great match. Both teams are very highly respected in terms of their football, and both sides have quality players who can single-handedly turn the game on it's head.

I think that Brazil will run out victorious in this. Their defense has been very solid thus far and although Holland have played well, they have failed to produce to a level that would make me think they can penetrate the Brazilians.