Threesy does it

Brazil's World Cup misery was compounded after the hosts ended the tournament on the wrong end of a 3-0 thumping by Holland.

The South American giants had big expectations and a wealth of pressure on their shoulders before the start of the tournament. But, what should have been a successful campaign, ended with a whimper and two terrible defeats.

In a rather meaningless game to see who finished third and fourth, Brazil were hoping to restore some much-needed pride after having been played off the park in their 7-1 loss to Germany in the semi-final. Instead, the hosts came up short yet again and were booed by their supporters for a second successive game.

Brazil have hosted a superb tournament, and arguably one of the greatest World Cups of my lifetime, but their own personal performance left a lot to be desired.

Holland were also disappointed not to have reached the final, like they had done in 2010, but at least the Dutch were able to end their campaign on a high.

Arjen Robben, who is often known for going over theatrically in the box, earned his side a deserved penalty after just three minutes when he was hauled down by Thiago Silva. Robin Van Persie made no mistake from the spot with his fourth goal of the tournament.

Louis Van Gaal's men doubled their advantage after 16 minutes when a poor headed clearance from David Luiz fell straight to Daley Blind. The Ajax man controlled the ball well before shooting calmly beyond Julio Cesar for his first international goal.

Brazil tried to reduce the deficit and had a penalty appeal turned down when Oscar went down in the box, with the Chelsea man then receiving a yellow card for diving.

The night got worse for Brazil as they conceded their 10th goal in just two games when Georginio Wijnaldum scored from close range in injury time. In fact, it was the first time since 1940 that the South Americans had suffered back-to-back home defeats.

It could get even worse for the hosts if their South American rivals Argentina take the title when they face Germany in the World Cup final in the Maracana. It is hard to imagine just what is going through the mind of Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. The former Chelsea boss led Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, but he is likely to be remembered more for the poor defeats to Germany and Holland in this campaign.

But, for all the hosts' disappointment, maybe Holland can at least look back at the tournament as being somewhat successful. The Dutch didn't take the title but, after demolishing holders Spain 5-1 in the opening game, Van Gaal's men came mighty close and only a penalty shoot-out prevented them from reaching a second successive final. The Dutch got over that disappointment to at least get third place and Van Gaal can head to his new job at Manchester United with a positive frame of mind.

As for holders Spain, they will officially lose their grip on the trophy after the final where either Germany or Argentina will be crowned as the new world champions. Everything seems to point towards Germany being the favourites but this tournament has taught us how dangerous it is to write off any side, so who knows what might happened.

Argentina could get Mullered or it could get rather Messi for Germany! Either way it looks set to be a cracking game! I'm going to stick with my prediction of 4-3 Germany!

Let the drama continue!

World Cup 2014 - One to remember and it's not over yet!