Brazil's World Cup campaign came to a miserable end as the hosts were convincingly beaten by Netherlands in the third-place play-off.
Goals from Robin van Persie, Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum condemned Brazil to back-to-back defeats on home soil for the first time since 1940, following Tuesday's embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany in the semi-final.
As an added insult, Brazil must now watch on as their fiercest rivals Argentina take on Germany for the chance to win the World Cup at Brazilian football's spiritual home, the Maracana, on Sunday.
Having backed their side so vocally throughout, home supporters turned on Brazil on Tuesday, cheering opposition attacks and directing loud boos at their own players, and their frustration continued in the capital, Brasilia.This is the first time since 1940 that Brazil have lost consecutive matches on home soil (in 1940 they lost 3-0 v Argentina and 4-3 v Uruguay).
Brazil have failed to score in two games in a World Cup tournament for the first time since 1978.
This is only the second time in the past 10 World Cup third-place play-offs that a team has failed to score (Bulgaria lost 4-0 v Sweden in 1994).
Belgium in 1986 (15 goals conceded) were the last team to concede 14 or more goals in a World Cup finals before Brazil this year (14).
Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari bore the brunt of their anger, and his long-term future as national team boss is now in doubt.
Brazil's fans had packed homes, bars and fan parks to watch the action, leaving streets near empty, but the shock defeat by Germany left a question mark over how they would greet their team before Saturday's game.There was little indication in the build-up that their interest had wavered, as thousands descended on the Copacabana beach fan park in Rio de Janeiro, while the Estadio Nacional was close to capacity.
When the teams emerged from the tunnel to go through their pre-match warm-ups, the players were greeted by loud cheers, which increased in volume when injured talisman Neymar appeared.
The striker - who scored four goals before a back injury ruled him out of the Germany debacle - was wearing a full training kit, but watched from the bench as his team-mates went onto the pitch.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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