Scolari out to restore pride

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

Luiz Felipe Scolari wants his Brazil players to restore some pride to the nation by ending the FIFA World Cup™ with a victory.

Brazil's hopes of winning the World Cup on home soil were dashed in the most brutal fashion on Tuesday when Germany hammered them 7-1 in the semi-finals. A wave of anger towards Scolari and his players followed the humiliation, but the Brazil coach rejected calls for him to resign. The defiant 65-year-old held up a sheet of paper during a press conference that followed the defeat, detailing his record of just three losses in 28 matches.

Another defeat in Saturday's third-place play-off against the Netherlands would increase the public's anger towards Scolari, but he is desperate to end the summer with a win for the hurt people of his football-mad nation.

"I know my career will be marked by this defeat, but we have an obligation to move on and think about the next goal, which in this case is the match for third place on Saturday in Brasilia," the Brazil coach said.

"I know it's a much smaller dream that we all wanted, but we have to honour the shirt of the national team."

Scolari will meet with officials from the Brazilian Football Confederation following the match in the capital to discuss his future. Brazilian football great Zico called on Scolari to quit following the hammering in Belo Horizonte. But Scolari insists he has done a good job with the players he has at his disposal.

"We made the semi-finals, the top four teams in the world," he said. "And there were a lot of good teams that were knocked out before us."

Neymar, who missed the semi-final because of a back injury, tried to raise spirits among the players by visiting the squad at their Teresopolis base on Thursday. It will take a lot to lift the mood of the fans though.

I know it's a much smaller dream that we all wanted, but we have to honour the shirt of the national team.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari

Some supporters inside the Estadio Mineirao burned a Brazilian flag on Tuesday night and many left after 29 minutes, when the hosts were 5-0 down.

Those who remained booed their team off at half-time and then in the second half they cheered and clapped the Germans as a sign of their disapproval towards Seleção.

Captain Thiago Silva wants the home fans inside the stadium in Brasilia to get behind their team this weekend.

"This is a bad time so we need strength from our fans," said the defender, who returns to the starting XI after sitting out the Germany game through suspension.

"I guarantee that we will play this Saturday's game like it was the final." Silva was at a loss to explain the comprehensive nature of the defeat to Germany.

"It's almost impossible to explain what happened," the Paris Saint-German centre back said.

"This was not the Brazil team we know."

Beaten pair out to restore pride

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

MATCHDAY PREVIEW – Brazil versus the Netherlands is a match-up fit for a Final and would have made a worthy climax to the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. Instead, the two teams will face off in the Play-off for Third Place, with both eager to restore a little pride after the heartbreak of their semi-final defeats.

The hosts, in particular, slipped to an unprecedented loss, losing focus in a punishing 7-1 reverse at the hands of Germany. For the record five-time champions and the nation that still exports a constant stream of talent, it was a painful end to their mission to erase memories of the 1950 Maracanazo on home soil. The watching world could only look on and wonder what had happened to the side that once enjoyed a surfeit of football artists admired across the globe. Missing the injured Neymar, billed as successor to the likes of Pele, Zico, Romario, Rivaldo and Ronaldo, A Seleção simply fell to pieces against Joachim Low's men. Captain Thiago Silva will aim to steady the ship after returning from suspension, however, and he hopes to give Brazil's crestfallen supporters something to smile about again with the small consolation of third place.

Disappointment reigns too in the Netherlands camp, with Louis van Gaal's side having made such a stunning start to their campaign by dispatching Spain 5-1. Likely to be contesting their final World Cup, senior stalwarts Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, Dirk Kuyt and Nigel de Jong had all been hoping to steer the Oranje to their maiden triumph after a trio of runners-up spots. That wait goes on, and in truth the Dutch seemed to run out of steam towards the end, failing to find the net against Costa Rica or Argentina. Nevertheless, Van Gaal can still end his rein with a sense of satisfaction before he takes over at Manchester United and hands the baton to Guus Hiddink. Not only has he rebuilt the team since they lost all three group matches at UEFA EURO 2012, they remain unbeaten on his watch, with their penalty shoot-out loss going into the books as a draw. Leaving Brazil with the bronze medal, after taking silver in 2010, would help alleviate the prevailing sense of regret.

The match
Brazil-Netherlands, Estadio Nacional, Brasilia, 17.00 (local time)

Did you know?
Podium hopes: Brazil have disputed the Third Place Play-off on three previous occasions. A Seleção downed Sweden 4-2 in 1938 and Italy 2-1 in 1978, but finished on the losing side to Poland in 1974. As for the Netherlands, they will contest their 50th World Cup game looking to finish third on the podium for the first time, having succumbed 2-1 to Croatia in 1998.

Goalkeeping glory: The Netherlands have tended to bring the best out in goalkeepers at Brazil 2014, with the Budweiser Man of the Match award going to their opponents' custodian in their last three matches. Argentina's Sergio Romero took the honours in the semi-final, following on from Keylor Navas of Costa Rica and Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa – meaning that Julio Cesar would be well advised to stay on his toes.

Run over: Brazil's loss to Germany was their first competitive defeat on home soil in 64 games since they went down 3-1 to Peru in the Copa America on 30 September 1975. None of Luiz Felipe Scolari's squad were even alive at the time, but, as fate would have it, their painful last-four exit took place in the same stadium: the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte.

Pozzo pedigree: With Scolari's charges now out, Vittorio Pozzo remains the only coach to have won a pair of World Cups, having steered Italy to glory in 1934 and 1938. Brazil's Mario Zagallo's also enjoyed a double taste of success, in 1970 and 1994, but for the latter tournament he served as an assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira – who has been working alongside Scolari this year.

Suspended players
None

Check it out
The Netherlands are unsurprisingly devastated to have fallen short at the penultimate hurdle once again. Given the youthful nature of their squad, however, the Oranje have been keen to look for silver linings. As the defeated semi-finalists explained to FIFA, they will return home optimistic for the future, and satisfied that they gave their all.

For anyone who missed Brazil's historic 7-1 loss to Germany, meanwhile, FIFA.com spent time in the Seleção camp seeking out the reactions of players and staff alike. A sense of shock still lingers after 'The dream that disappeared in six minutes' – an incredible turn of events that even the most creative fiction writers could not have predicted.

On this day
Before Belo Horizonte, Brazil suffered their heaviest World Cup defeat at the Stade de France on 12 July 1998, when hosts France lifted the Trophy following a 3-0 success. Despite the one-sided scoreline, the South American giants fielded a fearsome line-up in Paris – and one that their fans today must look back on wistfully – with the likes of Claudio Taffarel, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Bebeto leading the charge. Brazil owed their spot in the showpiece to a win against the Netherlands in the semi-finals, having edged through 4-2 on penalties at the end of a 1-1 draw.

Play and win 
The three candidates for the Hyundai Young Player Award have been confirmed, so you now have until the final whistle on Sunday to guess whether Paul Pogba, Memphis Depay or Raphael Varane will win the trophy. Guess right and you could win one of 30 Hyundai premium prize sets!

Top tweet

Last training session completed of the season. 1 more big push tomorrow to beat Brazil. #Brasilia #WorldCup2014 https://t.co/DlBfCcQ2Al

— Tim Krul (@TimKrul) July 11, 2014

Rooney: 'Hurting' England must restore pride

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

England striker Wayne Rooney said on Saturday that his side were "hurting" after their early World Cup elimination and urged his team-mates to "restore pride" against Costa Rica on Tuesday.

"Obviously we're hurting," the Manchester United striker told a press conference at England's Rio de Janeiro training base. "It's really disappointing to be out of the tournament, so I'm sure you can imagine it's quite tough. There'll be a long few days for us now and we have to try and pick ourselves up for this game on Tuesday, go out fighting and show our pride."

England lost their first two Group D games 2-1 against Italy and Uruguay and were eliminated on Friday after the Italians lost 1-0 to Costa Rica in Recife. It is the first time England have gone out in the first phase of a World Cup since the 1958 tournament in Sweden.

However, English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has confirmed that England manager Roy Hodgson will stay on until UEFA EURO 2016 and Rooney says the squad were fully behind him.

"Make no doubt about it - Roy is the man to take this team forward. We appreciate what he has done for us," Rooney said. "He has put a great enthusiasm in the team, a great set of young, exciting players in place.

"He has, in my opinion, changed the way we have played over the last couple of years and I know the results have been disappointing in the last two games, but as a team we can feel we are getting better. I feel with the young lads in the squad, this will help them and hopefully in the future this will make us a better team."