Holland vs. Brazil

Two heavyweights in the World Cup will meet on Friday 2nd of July in Port Elizabeth in the first quarterfinals kicking off at 15:00 BST. South Africa will brace the five times World Cup winner, Brazil taking on a potential Holland side who are looking to win the World Cup for the first time. Both teams are undefeated enroute to the quarterfinals and there will be no quarters given in search for a semifinal place.

The Netherlands have now gone 23 games unbeaten and Coach Van Marwijk has not seen the best of his team yet. They kept their 100% winning record when they beat Slovakia 2-1 in the second round. A goal coming from Arjen Robben is good news for many traveling Oranje army as they know he could be the key to further Holland’s World Cup campaign in South Africa. Robben was subbed off after 71 minutes played which means he might not be fully fit as many think he is. His sublime skills were the difference on the day with Holland able to attack with momentum and pace. It was a deserved victory in the end in which the Dutch squad will find out in their next task whether they can compete with the big nation for the big prize. Their trademark total football is a thing in the past when it comes to this Dutch team. Van Marwijk pushed his men to practice his tactics in which they prey on efficiently pragmatic, structural, closed and going forward with pace and movement. The Dutch side is reliant on their key players of Van Persie, Sneijder and Robben to produce the flair for the team. They might other players like Kuyt and De Jong to find their best form if they were to stop the Brazilians in the midfield. Holland have a strong bench that can turn games around, Huntelaar, Elia, Van der Vaart and Afellay are ones that can help when require.

Brazil are in samba mood to entertain the Dutch in Port Elizabeth. Anything but a win could spell a resignation from Dunga as this team has the potential to pick up their sixth World Cup. The Brazilians have not played the glorious football that we used to see them on the field. They started out slow in the group of death by beating North Korea 2-1, but since then they demonstrated that they have one of the best defense in this tournament. Everybody knows that Brazil have the ability to go forward with players like Kaka, Robinho and tournament top scorer Luis Fabanio, but Brazil are not famous for their defending. Dunga has made them looking impregnable and solid in avoid little things that can lead up to conceding goals. This is a Brazil team that does not attack to compensate their defending, they defend well and that is also helped with a World Class goal keeper, Julio Cesar. Two holding midfielders will star once again in the Brazilian core as Ramires is suspended, Felipe Melo should recover in time to replace him. Elano did not feature in the 3-0 against Chile so he could be contention to replace Dani Alves. The constellation of Robinho, Kaka and Fabanio will remain the key weapon for Brazil going forward.

Two teams that have ditched their traditional tag of playing beautiful football, are coming into terms with playing pragmatic football as the modern style. Many teams in the World Cup have found success in playing this style but Holland and Brazil are looking to master this form, as they both take to the pitch of Port Elizabeth for the first time. It is hard to find fault in this Brazilian team, they have an all round team with depth on the bench. The only thing they might be prone to is lack of concentration. Holland could be a time bomb in which they have demonstrated in past tournaments. In South Africa, they haven’t played explosive football nor the football their fans have demand but they still managed to get this far. It could be reveal as Brazil that their defensive style system could be a liability as they have not been tested to full lengthen. The other option for the Dutch is for them to take this opportunity and showed that they are one unity team that should not be underestimated.

Verdict
Two pragmatic teams with an explosive attack that can burst at any time, although it is more yellow in South Africa than oranje.