World Cup: Netherlands vs. Brazil: Wesley Sneijder scores game-winner in stunning 2-1 Netherlands victory

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Wesley Sneijder used his ‘bald head’ to score a huge goal -- the game-winner in the Netherlands’ 2-1 comeback victory over five-time champion Brazil in Friday’s World Cup quarterfinals.

‘It just slipped through from my bald head and it was a great feeling,’ Sneijder said of the goal he scored in the 68th minute with a header following a corner kick.

It was the Netherlands’ first win over Brazil since the 1974 World Cup, when Johan Cruyff was the team’s star and ‘total football’ reigned.

‘It was an amazing game. I think we showed the whole world how we can play,’ Sneijder said. ‘Finally we won, we beat Brazil.’

Robinho had given Brazil the lead in the 10th, but the Netherlands equalized in the 53rd with an own goal from Felipe Melo.

It was a match of sharp contrasts for Melo, who set up the opening goal with a brilliant through pass but then was shown a direct red card in the 73rd for stepping on Netherlands winger Arjen Robben, leaving Brazil with 10 men.

The Netherlands reached the semifinals for the first time since losing to Brazil on penalties at the 1998 World Cup in France and will next face either Uruguay or Ghana. The Dutch will be favored in either matchup.

Having won all five of their matches so far, the Netherlands extended its team-record unbeaten streak to 24 games, stretching back to a September 2008 loss to Australia.

At the final whistle, the Dutch players jumped on each other near midfield and lingered to savor the moment.

The majority of the fans inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium were clad in Brazilian yellow, although many of them were wearing South Africa jerseys of the same color. Long after the match ended, the only fans remaining were orange-shirted Netherlands supporters, waving their country’s red, white and blue flags and chanting ‘Oranje.’

The Netherlands reached consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both -- to Germany and Argentina, respectively -- and its only major tournament victory was the 1988 European Championship.

Brazil also lost in the quarterfinals four years ago, falling to France, 1-0. Former Brazil captain Dunga was hired to coach the team after that loss despite having no managerial experience. His future is certain to come into question now.

‘We didn’t expect this,’ Dunga said. ‘We know that any World Cup match is about 90 minutes. In the first half we were able to play better and we weren’t able to maintain that rhythm in the second half.’

Dunga immediately accepted blame for the loss.

‘Without a shadow of a doubt, I am the coach of the Brazilian team,’ he said. ‘I have the greatest responsibility.’

On a warm and pleasant afternoon before a sellout crowd of 42,286, Brazil dominated the first 45 minutes, then fell apart.

Robinho’s goal started with a long pass from Melo through the heart of the Netherlands defense, setting up an easy score for the Santos striker.

Two minutes before he scored, Robinho had a goal waved off for a close offside call on Brazil’s first chance. Buzzing like a bee back and forth between the left wing and the center of Brazil’s attack, Robinho started another effort in the 31st that nearly became the most spectacular goal of the tournament.

Robinho dribbled through three defenders up the left flank then gave the ball to Luis Fabiano, who flicked it back with his heel to Kaka. The playmaker then sent a searing shot to the top right corner of the goal, but Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg timed his leap perfectly to deflect the ball away with one hand.

The one-goal lead wasn’t enough, though, and Brazil began to unravel when Melo headed the ball into his own net in a mixup with Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar following a cross from Sneijder, who also led Inter Milan to the Champions League title in May.

Sneijder’s goal followed a corner kick from Robben. Dirk Kuyt flicked the ball on with a header by the near post and Sneijder found the target from the center of the area.

Five minutes later, Melo walked off the field with his head hung low.

Brazil had one final chance in the 89th but a free kick from Daniel Alves smacked into a thick Dutch wall.

Melo missed Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Chile but was rushed back into the lineup because fellow midfielders Elano and Ramires sat out -- Elano with a right ankle injury and Ramires due to yellow cards.

‘The first half was really difficult for us. We were 1-0 behind, a great save by our goalkeeper on Kaka kept us there,’ Sneijder said. ‘At halftime we said to each other that we had to improve things and put more pressure on the Brazilian defense. For 45 minutes we went full throttle and we were rewarded.’

-- Associated Press