Brazil vs Holland: World Cup Third Place Play-off Promises Goals

It’s the game neither Brazil nor Holland will want to play, having suffered defeats to Germany and Argentina in their respective semi-finals – albeit in somewhat contrasting circumstances.

The hosts probably have more riding on this game after their 7-1 horror show against Die Mannschaft, which goes some way to explaining their status as 13/10 favourites to win the game in 90 minutes.

But with the Oranje already putting Spain to the sword with a 5-1 win earlier in the competition, another hammering may not be out of the question with Holland on at 7/4 for victory.

You have to go back to 1986 to find the last third-place play-off that went to extra time with 13/5 offered on a 90 minute stalemate. The two teams in the final that year? Argentina and Germany.

Here are three of the best bets for this most unique of World Cup occasions.

Over 3.5 goals to be scored @ 27/20

World Cup third-place play-offs have produced more than their fair share of goals over the years, with Turkey beating South Korea 3-2 in 2002, Germany beating Portugal 3-1 in 2006 and Die Mannschaft yet again winning through with a 3-2 victory over Uruguay four years ago.

Holland into this game off the back of back-to-back 0-0 scorelines, but having scored 10 goals across their three group games we should expect goals galore when they go up against a Brazil side that has scored in all but one of their games at this World Cup and conceded more than any other team.

Holland to score in both halves @ 9/4

After seeing the Dutch score goals in both halves against Spain and Australia in the groups, it’s hard to escape the idea that they could find the net either side of the break against a Brazil team likely to still be reeling from their 7-1 loss.

Louis van Gaal will be desperate to go out on something of a high with Holland, so expect the Dutch to come out all guns blazing and score in both halves as Germany did in 2006 and 2010.

Holland first team to score three goals @ 4/1

In each of the last three World Cup third-place play-offs the winning team has racked up a minimum of three goals and with Holland already being back to find the net with frequency, it could be worth backing them to be the first team to hit the three goal mark.

Germany managed it in around half-an-hour in the semis and a similar start could have you laughing all the way to the bank.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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