Brazil vs. Netherlands, World Cup 2014: Embarrassment complete for the hosts

Brazil responded by bombarding the Dutch box with crosses, though they were almost invariably gobbled up by the Oranje center backs.

The hosts didn’t look much better after the restart. They still struggled to convert their possession into goalscoring chances, and failed to seriously test Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen. Ramires wriggled into space on the edge of the box just short of the hour, though he dragged his shot wide of the far post.

Embarrassment complete.

“Let’s go back to the locker room so we can close up that gaping laceration.”

“No, just put the staples in my head right here.”

That’s Blind’s first ever international goal, and yet again, some truly amateurish defending from some of the best defenders on the planet.

The referee makes a really terrible decision not to give a red card here. Well, perhaps for his own safety and the sanity of Brazil, he made a decent decision, but this is as clear of a denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity as you’re ever going to see. There’s no gray area here. It’s a very clear sending off.

As expected, Robin van Persie stepped up to the spot and scored with a perfectly curled shot to the top corner, and the Netherlands lead 1-0.

Louis van Gaal has responded by replacing the attacking midfielder with a deeper-lying one, with Jonathan de Guzmán returning to the fold for the first time since early in the tournament.

The Dutch can finish out their World Cup campaign with an undefeated record if they avoid a loss against Brazil. All of Louis van Gaal’s players are available for selection, but there’s a good chance he’ll give Michael Vorm his first start of the tournament. Nigel de Jong will probably drop to the bench to ensure he doesn’t re-aggravate his groin injury ahead of the club season.

Match date/time: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

Do you remember this guy?

Some highlights, translated into English.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. And ouch. Scolari has so far insisted that he will not resign, though once the 3/4-place playoff is out of the way he may suddenly change his mind. But even if he wanted to stay on, and even if the Brazilian football federation were minded to keep him, there is surely no way he could survive a rift with Neymar.

So if there’s anything more to this than simply an agent venting — and it’s rare that they do without at least the tacit approval of their clients — then Scolari suddenly looks even more doomed than he already did. And who thought that was possible?