The anthems are over and the players are shaking hands. A huge banner: "SAY NO TO RACISM" has been unfurled.
Rise, for the national anthems.
The players are out on the field. Surely a blow to Holland that, the late injury.
Breaking News: Mathijsen, who picked an injury during warming-up, has been replaced by Ooijer.
Some key battles which could decide the contest:-
The ability of Gio to keep the marauding Maicon at bay.
Robben - who could line up on the right hand side again with Kuyt being shifted to the left - against Bastos.
The raw power of Lucio against the smart trickery of van Persie.
The ability of the two water-carriers in both the midfields - Silva and Melo for the Selecao and De Jong and van Bommel for the Dutch - to keep out the opposition's attacking midfielders.
And how about this one, Real Madrid reject against one of Real Madrid's latest poster boys: Sneijder against Kaka.
Route to the last eight:-
Netherlands:- Beat Denmark 2-0, Beat Japan 1-0, Beat Cameroon 2-1 and Beat Slovakia 2-1.
Brazil:- Beat North Korea 2-1, Beat Ivory Coast 3-1, Beat Portugal 0-0, Beat Chile 3-0.
Netherlands are only one of the two sides - the other being Argentina - which gained maximum points from the group stages.
Detailed Team News:-
Netherlands: Maarten Stekelenburg, Gregory van der Wiel, John Heitinga, Joris Mathijsen, Giovanni van Bronckhorst Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong, Arjen Robben 9-Robin van Persie.
Brazil: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Dani Alves, Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano.
For the Samba Boys, midfield general Felipe Melo replaces the suspended Ramires.
The team news is in. And there are largely no surprises for the 'Oranje'. Robin van Persie, who had a verbal disagreement with Bert van Marwijk after he was substituted against Slovakia, keeps his place ahead of Klaas Jan-Huntelaar while Arjen Robben makes his second start of the tournament.
The footballing cultures of Holland and Brazil have been built around eye catching, free flowing football. But the coaches of the two teams - Dunga (Brazil) and Bert van Marwijk (Netherlands) - have their ethos based on winning even if it means dispensing with age-old identities. Saying that, both the teams have played some jaw-dropping football so far.
This match has all the makings of a smashing box office hit. At the same time, this match has the potential to be a damp squib.
Hello and welcome to our live updates between the Netherlands and Brazil.
Keywords: 2010 World Cup, Netherlands vs Brazil
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