Really necessary?

For the record, the Netherlands won Saturday night's game by a score of 3-0.

But will you remember this in four years' time? Does anybody ever remember who won the game for third place? Maybe.

Odds are though, that while keen followers of the game will remember that Germany beat Uruguay 3-2 in South Africa four years ago, and that Germany downed Portugal 3-1 at home in 2006, casual supporters will be hard pressed to remember much of anything about third-place playoffs of the past. A couple of years down the road, the same will be said of Saturday's match.

By their very nature, such contests are essentially friendlies under a different name. They are the one game every four years in which it is guaranteed that the two contestants will be playing at best for pride alone (although Brazil lacked even that this year).

The organizers know this, tending to schedule these essentially meaningless contests in smaller stadia in secondary cities. Although the venue for Saturday's third-place match was the Estadio Nacional in the capital Brasilia, a venue with a capacity of more than 69,000 spectators. Perhaps even the financial incentives aren't even subtle anymore.

And the stadium did look relatively full, with the yellow of the home jersey the dominant color. Judging by the crowd noise though, these were no ordinary football fans. The shrill sound that emanated from the crowd on every successful Brazilian pass, bore more resemblance to what you might hear at a Justin Bieber concert than a football match. At least the youngsters were enjoying themselves.

Playing it safe

Games for third place at a World Cup share a similar nature to all-star games in the NBA, MLB, NHL or even MLS. No athlete wants to risk injury in such a meaningless contest - especially with so many meaningful and potentially lucrative ones ahead of them.

In ice hockey, this means no body checks. In baseball, no sliding in hard while the catcher blocks the plate. In a third-place playoff at the World Cup, it means a paucity of intensity and 50-50 balls being left.

Saturday's contest was largely a case in point. These two teams were perfectly capable of dishing out a physical display, but for the most part showed remarkable restraint. Dirk Kuyt, who suffered a cut to the back of the head which required treatment following an errant Brazilian elbow, proved that some were willing to get involved. Then again, when isn't Kuyt committed?

The most glaring example of the teams playing it (physically) safe came with Holland's second goal in the 16th minute. An attempted clearance by the Brazilian defense fell kindly to Daley Blind, who was given what seemed like an eternity to calmly bring the ball under control and finish unchallenged from near the penalty spot. The attempt by a couple of Brazilian defenders to apply pressure was late and less than half-hearted.

A couple of million extra for the Oranje

Ironically, the Brazilians had more to play for in terms of trying to put things right with their fans after taking a 7-1 battering in the semifinal against Germany. But alas, the European club season beckons, and most, no doubt, had a plane to catch.

So was Saturday's game really necessary? How else was FIFA to decide which country's federation would pocket $22 million (16.2 million euros) for finishing in the third, rather than just the $20 million for a fourth-placed finish?