Netherlands finish third

Looking to recapture their pride after a seismic semifinal defeat to Germany, hosts Brazil got off to the worst possible start in Brasilia against the Netherlands. Arjen Robben burst through on the left-hand side of the area and was pulled back by Thiago Silva. Algerian referee Djamel Haimoudi gave the penalty, although the contact appeared on the edge of the area, and booked Thiago Silva - who was fortunate to escape a red. Robin van Persie dispatched the penalty with aplomb and Brazil were left in shock.

After a couple of flashes across goal, Brazil looked to have settled but just after a quarter of an hour they found themselves two goals down. A cross from the right was cleared poorly by David Luiz and an unpressured Daley Blind had all the time in the world to finish calmly past Julio Cesar. The home fans were vocally restless at their team's performance and a long shot from Oscar following a neat run did little to change that, or trouble Cillessen, who saved comfortably.

Free kicks remained Brazil's best chance of scoring, but both Paulinho and David Luiz couldn't get a touch on Luiz Gustavo's near-post flick. Oscar tried to curl in a more central free kick just before the end of the half, but the wall did its job and Brazil looked beyond saving.

With an hour played and the game beginning to fall into its predictably slower nature, Ramires nearly set up a competitive finale but his low shot went narrowly wide. Brazil desperately sought a way to repay their fans, but they still bore all of the marks of a psychologically scarred side.

Oscar fell theatrically in the box after contact with Blind, but the referee chose to book the Brazilian instead of the Dutchman as calls for a penalty were ignored. That aside, the second half became a fairly pedestrian affair as both sides were keen to avoid injury. Brazil, chasing the game, failed to muster enough to really trouble a largely comfortable Netherlands side. In injury time, PSV midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum tucked in a third after a neat cross from substitute Daryl Janmaat. Netherlands' manager Louis van Gaal added a finale flourish to his departure by bringing on third-choice goalkeeper Michel Vorm for Cillessen - making the 2014 Netherlands World Cup squad the first ever to use all 23 of their players.

The 3-0 win saw the Oranje pick up the bronze medal at the 2014 World Cup. Reasons behind the purpose of the fixture remain dubious, but Brazil's sporting performance at their own World Cup finished on a sour note. All eyes now turn to Rio and the final between Germany and Argentina.