Brazil 0-3 Netherlands: Hosts bow out with a whimper in Brasilia
Any Brazil fan expecting a response to the 7-1 semi-final humiliation by Germany was left bitterly disappointed as the Netherlands comfortably secured third place at the World Cup.
True, the Dutch did not rack up the goals but after just 16 minutes such a scoreline looked possible in Brasilia as the Orange raced into a 2-0 lead.
Selecao supporters belted out the national anthem with a pride despite a difficult week but that was the only moral victory they secured on another difficult night.
The third place play-off is a match no team ever wants to be a part of and despite Louis van Gaal lambasting it as being pointless, it was his side who took the early initiative.
With just two minutes gone Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben combined as the latter raced past Thiago Silva, only to be hauled down for a penalty when clear through on goal.
Contact appeared outside the box and referee Djamel Haimoudi then made a further hash of the incident by only giving the Brazil captain a yellow card, before Van Persie tucked away the spot-kick.
Passionate Brazilian support instantly fell flat and switched to boos as the Selecao players fumbled their way around looking for some form of reprieve.
But the Netherlands were not willing to provide it and Daley Blind soon doubled their tally, thanks to some further horrow show defending from David Luiz.
The £50million Paris Saint-Germain signing was embarrassing in the semi-final and his reputation took another blow when he poorly headed straight to the Dutchman to fire past Julio Cesar.
It was practically game over already with every Brazil player looking like they wanted the ground to swallow them up, while every Selecao fan took the opportunity to vent their spleen at the team and boss Luiz Felipe Scolari when he appeared on the big screen.
Oscar was the one bright spark for the hosts with the Chelsea midfielder testing the gloves of Jasper Cillessen and being unfortunate to be denied a penalty.
Referee Haimoudi again fluffed his lines bizarrely booking the 22-year-old when he was clearly taken down by Blind in the box.
But Brazil deserved nothing from the game and, in truth, they never looked capable of conjuring up a real chance without talisman Neymar, who sat injured on the bench looking emby what he saw.
The remainder of the match was played at a snail's pace with Netherlands keeping the Selecao comfortably at arm's length until the final moments when Georginio Wijnaldum stroked in Blind's cross.
It was thoroughly deserved for Van Gaal's side as the Dutch finished third at the World Cup and Brazil bowed out to the sound of boos from their devastated fans.