With Great Counterattacking Plays The Dutch Made Perfect Score Against Chile

There are only four days at any World Cup when it's possible for teams to play with their fates already decided, when a side can know before kickoff whether it will be heading home or sticking around.

Monday, when the Netherlands faced Chile in São Paulo, was the first of them here in Brazil.

And while a 2-0 victory for the Dutch didn't send Chile packing, it did condemn La Roja to a likely knockout-round matchup with Brazil for the second time in two World Cups. Brazil would top Group A by beating Cameroon later in the day.

The reward for the Netherlands' pair of late goals will be facing Group A's runner-up: Mexico. The result was entirely unaffected by Group B's other game—Spain beat Australia 3-0—since both sides were already eliminated.

"We are not really busy with that at the moment," said Netherlands winger Arjen Robben, who captained the side in place of the suspended Robin van Persie. "I think we have to enjoy this evening. We've won the game. We've done our job."

So much of the Dutch soccer tradition is built around keeping the ball, but the Oranje have taken the opposite approach with a counterattacking style—much to the chagrin of many fans back home before the tournament. But it's hard to argue with the results of coach Louis van Gaal's new system, which he only implemented in the past month. The Dutch are the first team at the tournament to qualify with the maximum nine points.

"This is the proof. We're not giving away very much and we're always creating," van Gaal said in Dutch. "And for a coach, it's nice to see that it's producing results. If that was not the case, you would have chopped off my head."

Still, even by those standards, van Gaal felt that his side surrendered too much possession throughout this dull game—Chile held the ball for more than twice as long as the Netherlands.

The difference came with a pair of second half substitutes. Leroy Fer of Norwich City put the Netherlands in front after 77 minutes with his first touch of the game, a header from a corner kick. Memphis Depay, a 20-year-old forward from PSV Eindhoven, made it 2-0 after he was teed up by Robben.

"We have analyzed this," van Gaal said. "Chile always gives you more space in the last 15 minutes."

Mexico Beats Croatia And Makes Its Place As Group A's 2nd Awaiting For Netherlands

All of the scoring came in the second half here Monday as Mexico defeated Croatia 3-1 to grab the second World Cup knockout stage berth from Group A.

The result left Mexico with seven points, the same as Brazil, but the host nation took first place in the group thanks to a larger goal differential.

"El Tri," whose next opponent will be Group B winner Holland, have advanced to the second round of every World Cup competition going back to 1994.

The Mexicans found the going rough in the first half on Monday, confronted by a tenacious Croatian side that clogged the middle of the field while launching offensive forays down the flanks.

When El Tri crossed the midfield line, they were confronted by a defensive wall that left shots from distance as the only option.

Rafael Marquez broke the scoreless tie in the 72nd minute, scoring with a header off a corner kick, and Andres Guardado doubled Mexico's lead just three minutes later.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez scored for Mexico at the 82nd-minute mark, followed by Ivan Perisic's consolation goal for Croatia in the 87th minute.

Brazil Had Many Chances Against Mexico But Did Not Prove Worthy as Candidate To Raise The Cup

Needing a tie against Brazil to nose ahead of Croatia in the race for second in Group A, Mexico duly got one, holding the Selecao to a 0-0 draw in Fortaleza. This was hardly a repeat of the tournament's other 0-0 scoreline, however — it was a thrilling ride that saw both teams create (and waste) great chances to go ahead.

How did El Tri manage to hold the favourites scoreless? It had a lot to do with the outstanding performance of 'Memo' Guillermo Ochoa in goal, but perhaps more to do with the Selecao's flaws, which are becoming more obvious by the game.

Brazil (4-2-3-1): Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho; Oscar, Neymar, Ramires; Fred.

Mexico (3-5-2): 'Memo' Guillermo Ochoa; 'Maza' Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Marquez, Hector Moreno; Paul Aguilar, Hector Herrera, Jose Vazquez, Andres Guardado, Miguel Layun; Giovani dos Santos, Oribe Peralta.

We've seen 3-5-2 versus 4-2-3-1 already in this tournament, and just like in the first half of Argentina's win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, the latter shape dominated play in the centre of the pitch but failed to find the net. That's probably where the similarities end, however. Alejandro Sabella's Argentina were looking to roll their opponents over, while here, Mexico's 3-5-2 was hoping to draw Brazil's fullbacks forward and hit them on the counterattack.

Ramires receiving a yellow card against Mexico, Photo credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

With Hulk injured, Luiz Felipe Scolari had a selection dilemma on the right wing. He chose Chelsea midfielder Ramires for the role, overlooking the likes of Bernard and Willian — the latter is particularly amusing because Willian is a regular starter ahead of Ramires at club level — and that decision backfired rather spectacularly, with Ramires contributing little but a yellow card before being hauled off at halftime.

Oscar was fielded on the left wing but constantly drifted inside to help keep possession in midfield, resolving one major issue from the Croatia game, but at the same time Oscar's movement left Brazil without a genuine threat on the left barring Marcelo's runs up the pitch — it was a sacrifice of control in the centre for attacking penetration. Against Croatia, Oscar attempted seven crosses as a right winger, but here he only tried three.

Brazil dominated possession, and despite Mexico coming close a number of times with speculative long-range efforts, it was clear which side was on top of the match: the hosts created the bulk of the real scoring chances, and Mexico (perhaps surprisingly, considering 

Dani Alves' aggressive positioning) weren't able to work any of the flank overloads that had served them so well against Cameroon. El Tri's first and only shot from inside the penalty area came in the 78th minute, by which point Memo Ochoa had made half a dozen saves.