Brazil will be seeking redemption this weekend as Luiz Felipe Scolari's side face the Netherlands in Saturday's third-place playoff for the penultimate fixture of the World Cup.

Both nations duke it out in Brasilia tomorrow night in a bid to salvage some pride after the pair lost their respective semi-final encounters - albeit in contrasting manners.

The Selecao saw their dream of winning the World Cup on home soil dashed in ruthless fashion on Tuesday as Germany cruised to a 7-1 victory in front of a visibly distressed home crowd in Belo Horizonte.

A disastrous first half set the tone for the Brazilians as Germany struck four times in an astonishing six-minute spell en route to a commanding five-goal half-time lead.

One positive for the host nation is that captain Thiago Silva returns to the team after missing the seven-goal mauling through suspension.

Neymar remains sidelined with a back injury, meaning that Willian could deputise in his absence after Bernard endured an indifferent performance against the Germans.

Elsewhere, Scolari may finally call time on Fred's inclusion after the striker was booed in the Estadio Mineirao for his display against Joachim Low's side.

Unlike their Brazilian counterparts, the Netherlands had to wait two hours before being put out of their misery following the drab 0-0 draw with Argentina on Wednesday.

In a game of few chances, it came down to a penalty shootout and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved twice from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to ensure that the Dutch would not replicate their heroics from the previous round against Costa Rica.

Coach Louis van Gaal may elect to give third-choice goalkeeper Michel Vorm some game-time, as the Swansea City keeper is the only one of the 23-man squad not to get a run-out as of yet.

Victory for the Netherlands would represent their third win over Brazil at the finals, having beaten the South Americans twice - 1974 and 2010 - and drawn one in their previous four World Cup meetings.

Recent form

Netherlands: WWWWWL

Brazil: WDWWWL

Possible starting lineups

Netherlands: Vorm; De Vrij, Vlaar, Martins Indi, Kuyt, Blind; De Jong, Wijnaldum; Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie

Brazil: Cesar; Alves, Silva, Luiz, Marcelo; Gustavo, Fernandinho, Hulk, Oscar, Willian; Jo

Sports Mole says: 2-3

Written by
Shane Callaghan

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