World Cup Third Place Championship Of The World Open Thread

Brazil vs The Netherlands
Estádio Nacional de Brasilia, Brasília
1PM PT

So here we are, the game nobody wants to play in and probably not that many people watch, comparatively - on the Guardian's World Cup podcast yesterday, a Dutch journalist said that "almost nobody in Holland will go out of their way to watch this game".  While that may be a slight exaggeration, it's true to say that playing for third place isn't where these teams wanted to be in mid-July and, while they'll both try to win, it's not a game that will go down in the national history of either team as something all that memorable.

Brazil arguably have far more to play for - they took their pride out for a walk last week, and it got dragged down a dark alley, robbed of all its valuables, beaten to within an inch of its life, and left for dead, bleeding and barely functional. So today they look to exit the tournament on a positive note as they rebuild for their next international go-round.

The last time Brazil got  unexpectedly beaten like this, a 2-1 loss to Uruguay in 1950, their changes after the tournament were so complete that they even changed national colors - from all white to the yellow and blue that's so familiar today. A kit, by the way, designed by a Brazilian Uruguay fan. So, look for a major rebrand next year maybe?

Game's on ESPN, CBC, BBC, ITV, and various other platforms.