Brasilia, July 12: Brazil will play for pride in the third-place decider in the 2014 World Cup against the Netherlands at the Estádio Nacional Mane Garrincha here on Saturday.

The hosts were devastated in their semifinal match against Germany after losing 1-7 in front of a sea of a home crowd on Tuesday. The loss, worst ever for Brazil in nearly a century, had left not only the five-time champions but the entire football world in a state of shock.

A third place would not mean much for the Brazilian fans but for the national team, it would be crucial to return to the winning habits at the earliest after the semifinal disaster.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had guided Brazil to victory in the World Cup final against Germany 12 years ago, witnessed a massive revenge by the Europeans this time. He said the 1-7 defeat would mark his career but his team was looking to the next goal and that is to end up third in the tournament.

Brazil have finished third in the World Cup twice, in 1938 and 1978.

Thiago Silva, the Brazilian captain who missed the match against Germany after facing a suspension, would return to the team to give its defence some solidarity. But the hosts would miss Neymar, the star forward who was knocked out of the tournament by a vertebra injury against Colombia in the quarterfinals.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, would also look to give a decent finishing touch to their World Cup campaign that had started with a bang.

The men in orange decimated defending champions Spain 5-1 in their opening match but could not maintain the same form after the group stages. The Dutch, in fact, could not find the net in last two matches till the 120 minutes. The same team scored 12 goals in their first four matches.

Louis Van Gaal, coach of the Netherlands, had initially said the third-place match should have never been played but softened his stand subsequently and was looking to end his stint as the coach on a winning note. Gaal would head for his new post as the manager of Manchester United after the World Cup.

Gaal would miss the service of midfielder Leroy Fer in the match against Brazil.

The Netherlands, the runners-up in three editions, finished fourth in 1998 when they lost to Croatia 1-2 in the third-place decider.

Brazil and Netherlands have met 4 times in WC with both teams winning twice

The Dutch lost 2-4 to Argentina in the penalties after failing to score a goal in 120 minutes. A frustrated Gaal said it was better to lose 1-7 than that.

The Netherlands and Brazil have met four times in World Cup finals with both teams winning two games each. In the 2010 World Cup, the Dutch defeated Brazil 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

Germany will take on Argentina in the final of the World Cup on Sunday.

Oneindia News