The final match ups of the group stage began with a bang as Netherlands faced Chile. Both teams battled it out to come out on top of Group B. Netherlands comes with a 3-2 victory over Australia while Chile comes with a proud 2-0 victory over Spain. The loss to Chile eliminated Spain from the Round of 16.
First half began with both teams looking to score. Both teams have a very fast paced attack with Netherlands having Arjen Robben while Chile has Alexis Sanchez. They each came close with chances but weren’t able to finish them in the first part of the first half. The first yellow card of the match came on the 25th as Fransisco Silva was cautioned for a foul on Jeremain Lens. Stefan De Vrij came real close with a header on the 35th minute but it came out just a bit wide of the goal. Robben came close to score the 40th minute as he took the ball from the midfield and sped to the left side of the box where his shot was just wide of the second post. The first half ended with a score of 0-0.
The first substitution occurred in the beginning of the second as Jean Beausejour replaced Felipe Gutierrez in the midfield to put some fresh legs in there. The first yellow card for the Dutch side had Dely Blind cautioned on the 64th minute. On the Dutch side, Memphis Depay replaced Jeremain Lens on the 69th minute to put some fresh legs in the Dutch offensive line. A substitution for Chile followed right after as Francisco Silva came off for Jorge Valdivia on the 70th minute. The second substitution for the Netherlands saw Wesley Sneijder came off to make room for Leroy Fer. The “super sub” rose up for Holland in this match as Leroy Fer scored his first international goal for the Dutch to put them in the lead on the 77th minute. The final substitution for the Chilean side had Eduardo Vargas coming off for Mauricio Pinilla on the 81st minute. Dirk Kuyt came off on the 89th minute due to a slight injury for 2 year old Terence Kongolo.
Arjen Robben lead a counter attack in which he assisted Memphis Depay score the second goal for the Dutch on the 90th munute. The final score of the match ended 2-0 with Netherlands winning Group B and to the Round of 16. The Dutch controlled the midfield on the second half which led to the two goals which won the match for the Dutch. The Dutch showed that they are just as deadly with out the main striker Robin Van Persie. Who will Netherlands and Chile face in the Round of 16?
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