Netherlands, Brazil Look To Advance To World Cup Final Four

Thursday, 01 July 2010 10:00

The World Cup quarterfinals begin on Friday and up first is a very good matchup between Brazil and Holland. Brazil is always considered among the top challengers for soccer’s biggest prize and was favored along with Spain heading into the 2010 tournament. Holland is also a very well respected side and was installed as the #5 World Cup betting favorite before play began. This game will go at 7:00 AM Pacific time on Friday morning.

Holland receives high marks for their offense, though their defense has been considered something of a concern. Known informally as the Oranje (‘orange’)—a reference to William of Orange, who became the first king of the re-unified Netherlands in 1813—the Dutch team boasts an impressive array of frontline talent. Holland’s attack is led by Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder orchestrating and a deep and versatile group of scorers including Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt and Arsenal’s Robin van Persie among others.

The defense and goaltending, however, is just adequate. The backline players are comprised primarily of Dutch Eredivisie talent including Ajax right back Gregory van der Wiel and Feyenoord’s Giovanni van Bronckhorst. A bigger issue is the goalkeeping following the retirement of Edwin van der Sar. Maarten Stekelenburg inherited the starting job, but has been inconsistent at best. The defense looked particularly shaky against Slovakia, but Holland was lucky to be facing an opponent without the playmakers up front to take advantage.

Brazil, of course, is a different matter entirely. After an inconsistent performance in the group stage, Brazil looked very good in their first match of the second round as they ripped Chile 3-0. As usual, Brazil features a ‘who’s who’ of International soccer talent starting at the very back with world class goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Daniel Alves and Maicon anchor the defense, with slick playmakers Kaka and Ronaldinho in midfield. Luis Fabiano and Robinho are Brazil’s top scoring threats.

In the past, Brazil has shown a tendency at times to ‘play down’ to their level of opposition and to get frustrated when the game doesn’t work out a pace and style to their liking. So far, that hasn’t been an issue with this year’s team and they’ve played very patient and intelligent soccer. The most impressive showing in the tournament has been the Brazilian defense—a liability in the past—which has allowed only two goals in four games.

We’re still not sold on Brazil to win the tournament, and will look for the opportunity to play against them going forward. In this game, however, they’re facing a perfect matchup in a team that has serious questions in their backline defense. Brazil should win and advance easily, but their improved defense makes the totals play something of a question mark. They certainly have the firepower to put 3 or more goals on the board, but they could just as easily hold Holland scoreless and need only a couple.

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Netherlands, Brazil Look To Advance To World Cup Final Four

Netherlands, Brazil Look To Advance To World Cup Final Four

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