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The Nelson Mandela
Bay in Port Elizabeth will today be the scene of an eagerly anticipated
battle between two of the 2010 World Cup’s talented sides.

Five-time
champions, Brazil, square up against the Orange men from the
Netherlands in the first quarter final encounter of the tournament.
Both sides are not new to each other, having met nine times before with
Brazil having a slight edge of three wins to the Netherland’s two.
Their last meeting at the World Cup took place 16 years ago during the
1994 edition, with Brazil running away with a 3-2 victory.

On a good day when
teams possessing the firepower and technical ability of both teams
play, sparks should fly. However, obsession with tactics, especially on
the part of the Brazilians, means fans may see a game shorn of flair
and creativity.

The South
Americans, noted for their fluid attacking style ,have for a long time
dating back to nearly two decades, opted for a hit and run approach.
Under Carlos Dunga in particular, the usually rampaging Brazilians are
content to lay back and allow their opponents have a go at them before
hitting them on the counter. That strategy has worked well for them in
this tournament, particularly in the game against Cote d ‘Ivoire, where
they clinically finished the exuberant Africans.

Robben inspiration

Against the
Netherlands, boosted by the return of Bayern Munich star, Arjen Robben,
their stingy defence is most likely to have a lot of work to do. The
Dutch, who beat hard fighting Slovakia in their round of 16 encounter,
will be relying on the guile of the former Chelsea FC star to unlock
the closely knit Brazilian defence. Robben, who sat out all his team’s
matches before the round of 16 clash, showed why coach Bert van Marwijk
and his crew had agonised over his absence, with a commanding display
against the Slovaks, which he capped with a beauty of a goal that must
rank as one of the best of the tournament.

Brazil coach,
Dunga, is mindful of the quality of his team’s next opponents: “Of the
European sides, the Netherlands are perhaps most similar to us South
Americans in terms of technical ability. They traditionally produce
teams that play nice football. They’re not a team that just defends or
one that plays a long-ball game. They’ve got very technical players and
we need to be ready for that.”

Playing with fire

Despite the quality
of players in their squad, the Dutch know it is an uphill task against
the sleek Brazilians parading former World Football of the Year, Kaka,
and rampaging Sevilla striker, Luis Fabiano, who has notched up three
goals so far in the tournament. Marwijk is wary of the threat posed by
the South Americans: “Brazil have six really impressive defensive
players and attackers who are capable of making a difference at any
moment. They’re a solid side.

“We’ve controlled the play in all our games so far; we’ve scored
seven goals and only conceded two and we’ve hardly been in any danger.
But I think that’s going to change when we meet Brazil.”