Netherlands faced Australia in Porto Alegre this afternoon having been tipped as potential World Cup winners after their 5-1 thrashing of holders Spain last week.
One of the stars of that memorable win, Arjen Robben, scored another solo goal to give the Dutch a 20th-minute lead, but he was outshone by Tim Cahill's stunning equalising volley, which came just sixty second later.
The Socceroos, who lost 3-1 to Chile last Friday, went ahead nine minutes after the interval when Mile Jedinak converted from the spot after Daryl Janmaat had been harshly penalised for handball.
However, Holland were as quick as Australia were in their response as Robin van Persie levelled the scores on 58 minutes, before substitute Memphis Depay struck the winner from long range.
Louis van Gaal's side have now collected maximum points from their opening two games and are in touching distance of the knockout stages, while Australia are pointless and face probable elimination.
Below, you can read how the action unfolded, courtesy of SM's minute-by-minute coverage.
Evening, all! The first of Wednesday's three World Cup games comes from Porto Alegre, where Netherlands, the most impressive team of the tournament so far, take on huge underdogs Australia.
The Socceroos are the lowest ranked team at the competition, but they proved against Chile that they are no pushovers, producing a spirited second-half display in a 3-1 loss last Friday.
Of course, earlier the same day, the Dutch made a huge statement of intent by thrashing Spain 5-1. They were not deemed genuine contenders to lift the trophy before, but that has all changed now.
Kickoff at Estadio Beira-Rio is just over 45 minutes away. Team news will be with you shortly...
AUSTRALIA: Ryan; Wilkinson, Davidson, McGowan, Spiranovic; Oar, Jedinak, McKay, Bresciano, Leckie; Cahill
SUBS: Langerak, Galekovic, Wright, Luongo, Milligan, Holland, Vidosic, Bozanic, Troisi, Halloran, Taggart
NETHERLANDS: Cillessen; Janmaat, Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind; De Guzman, De Jong; Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie
SUBS: Vorm, Krul, Verhaegh, Veltman, Kongolo, Depay, Lens, Clasie, Wijnaldum, Fer, Kuyt, Huntelaar
Unsurprisingly, Louis van Gaal names the same Netherlands XI that began the humbling of Spain. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben start in a flexible three-at-the-back formation.
Robben and Van Persie each scored twice and were the stars of the show in Salvador, but others impressed such as Daley Blind, who is the latest Dutchman to be linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Blind, who is being tipped as a possible alternative for United if they fail to snare Luke Shaw from Southampton, will play as a left wing-back, with Daryl Janmaat proving width on the other side.
The Aussies make two changes, one of them enforced, with right-back Ivan Franjic injured and replaced by former Hearts man Ryan McGowan. In midfield, Matt McKay is preferred to Mark Milligan.
Ex-Everton striker Tim Cahill, who was on the scoresheet against Chile, is the biggest threat in an inexperienced Australia side which contains three starters from its native A-League.
In netting at a third consecutive World Cup with a trademark header, Cahill proved that, even at 34, he still has the spring in his legs to be an aerial threat to any defensive unit.
However, the New York Red Bulls attacker may not get as much change out of Holland's three centre-backs tonight, as he did against Chile. Stefan de Vrij, Ron Vlaar and Bruno Martins Indi are all 6ft plus, compared to Chile's smaller, makeshift pairing of Gary Medel and Gonzalo Jara.
Tommy Oar and Mathew Leckie will be tasked with supporting Cahill. They have the pace to be effective outlets down the wing, but their final ball was inconsistent against Chile and must improve.
Cahill may be a specialist in headed goals, but he may never have scored a better one than Van Persie's against Spain. That is certainly the early pacesetter for goal of the tournament. The precision of the pass from Blind, the run and awareness from the Manchester United striker. Sublime.
Netherlands players bus surrounded by fans in Porto Alegre (via Here is the Netherlands team coach arriving in Porto Alegre earlier this afternoon, greeted by enthusiastic Dutch fans who may be dreaming of World Cup glory after their hammering of Spain.
href="https://twitter.com/OnsOranje">@OnsOranje ) pic.twitter.com/WqIXoNjuMH
— Dutch Football (@football_oranje) June 18, 2014
REFEREE WATCH: Djamel Haimoudi, a FIFA listed ref since 2004, and his team of Algerian officials will be in charge of this one. His whistle will blow for the first time in around 15 minutes.
A reminder what repercussions potential results will have on the shape of Group B. A Netherlands win will send them clear at the top with a maximum six points, and they will then qualify for the last 16 should Spain fail to win tonight. Australia will be knocked out if they lose and Chile do not.
BENCH WATCH: Ange Postecoglou must be jealous of the substitutes that Van Gaal has at his disposal. Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt, Georginio Wijnaldum and Klaas Jan Huntelaar are options he can turn to if he needs to change the game late on. The Aussies have skilful wingers Ben Halloran and Oliver Bozanic in reserve, and two men from England's League One - Bailey Wright and Massimo Luongo.
ONE TO WATCH: Aside from the obvious, I am looking forward to seeing defender Stefan de Vrij at close quarters. The Feyenoord centre-back has been linked with several Premier League clubs and today we will see how well he deals with a physical, aerial presence in Cahill.
PREDICTION: I see Holland having too much in attack for the Aussies, and they could win this as comfortably as 3-0. Australia's chances rest on not conceding an early goal. Here we go then...
The action is underway in Porto Alegre, with Holland in their alternative blue kit...
Cahill is a bit late with an early challenge on Martins Indi as he presses the ball high up the pitch. The defender requires treatment but is okay to resume, after leaving the field as required.
Robben has a great chance to run at Wilkinson, one-on-one on the edge of the Australia box, but he stumbles and a heavy touch allows the defender to clear and escape a hazardous situation.
Cillessen, who made that key save from David Silva when Holland were 1-0 down against Spain, has been assured in the opening stages here, taking up a great position to come off his line and collect a pass towards Leckie, and then charging out confidently to catch Davidson's cross into Cahill.
The Ajax goalkeeper has more important work to do as Jonathan de Guzman, after tracking back well to intercept, rolls a soft pass backwards, but Cillessen just about clears under pressure from McKay.
Van Gaal complained this week about the positioning of the benches at the Estadio Beira-Rio, saying that his view is impaired by a slope and television cameras in front of him. I don't know how much he has seen so far, but he will not be particularly pleased. They have yet to string five passes together.
Postecoglou may be giving years and experience away to opposite number Van Gaal, but he is outthinking him at the moment. Wingers Oar and Leckie are pushing up on the trio of centre-backs and then running into the channels when Australia get the ball, stretching that three-man defence.
De Vrij poorly underhits a passes across his box straight to Leckie, who skips round Martins Indi to deliver a pull back to Bresciano. De Vrij makes amends, though, by blocking his 20-yard shot.
First effort on target for the Dutch, and it comes from Van Persie. Robben, after throwing himself to the floor to con a foul against Davidson, whips in a free kick which the Netherlands skipper leans back to flick goalwards, but he cannot generate much power on the header and Ryan gathers easily.
GOAL! AUSTRALIA 0-1 NETHERLANDS (ARJEN ROBBEN)
Netherlands lead and it is another solo goal from the man who ripped apart Spain, Arjen Robben. His clever drop of the shoulder fools Wilkinson on the halfway line and the winger now has loads of space to run into. He has Blind to his left, and Van Persie to his right, but Robben has only eyes for goal and he runs at Spiranovic before tucking the ball past Ryan's left for his eighth goal in as many internationals.
GOAL! AUSTRALIA 1-1 NETHERLANDS (TIM CAHILL)
Robben, take a back seat son because this effort from Tim Cahill is an absolute stunner. The Socceroos skipper peels off De Vrij and McGowan finds him with a precise ball over the top, which Cahill lets come across him before thumping a fantastic left-footed volley in off the crossbar! The Aussies show that fighting spirit again with an immediate reply, and a goal out of the Robben and Van Persie mould!
What an amazing couple of minutes here. The Aussies probably did not deserve to be behind, and were only for 60 seconds thanks to Cahill's wonderful equaliser to Robben's 50-yard run and shot.
CHANCE! Sneijder's corner has some real pace behind it and is into a brilliant area for Vlaar to attack, but, with Ryan stranded, the Aston Villa man knocks a header a few yards over the crossbar.
Postecoglou promised that the Aussies will attack and they are doing just that, enjoying prolonged periods of possession in the Dutch half. Clever play from Bresciano earns them a third corner.
MISS! Leckie's pace is forcing the Dutch defence to retreat and they are very deep when the winger gets to the right byline before cutting a cross back towards the edge of the box. Australia have two men over at the back post, and one of them, Bresciano, runs onto the pass to meet it first time with his left foot, but he cannot keep his effort down as it flies a few yards over. A great opportunity!
CHANCE! The Aussies are the only side creating clear openings here, and the latest comes from a set piece. With attention on Cahill, Spiranovic peels off his marker and Oar's delivery to the near post lands at his feet, but from a grounded position, the defender can only divert straight at Cillessen.
Lovely link up play between McKay, Davidson and Oar on the left flank before the latter tries a cut back which is intercepted by De Vrij. Oar would have been better of drilling a ball in across the six-yard box there, with Cahill lurking on the shoulder of the last defender and clearly in good goalscoring form!
The intensity with which Australia are harrying Netherlands is preventing the Dutch from having any time on the ball, while, when they get hold of it themselves, their midfielders are confident enough to receive it in tight areas. They really have pinged it around quite nicely at times in this first half.
There seems to have been a change in shape from Van Gaal, who has reverted to the 4-3-3 system that the Dutch have used for many years. Martins Indi shifts to left-back, Blind into midfield.
BOOKING: Cahill charges into Martins Indi at full pace and catches him on the ankle. He is shown a yellow card, which means that he will be suspended for Australia's final Group B match against Spain. That will be a major blow if they are still in with a chance of qualifying. Martins Indi looks in trouble.
SUBSTITUTION: Martins Indi survived an early injury blow, but not this time. A stretcher is called. His tournament appears to be over. PSV's left-sided player Memphis Depay replaces him.
HALF-TIME: AUSTRALIA 1-1 NETHERLANDS
The Dutch are a little rattled in Porto Alegre, where Australia have been the better side during a first half which has ended 1-1, and offered us two beautiful, but different solo strikes.
Arjen Robben was unsurprisingly the architect of Netherlands' goal, turning cleverly on the halfway line before running at an exposed Aussie defence and rolling the ball into the net from 12 yards, without giving a second thought to passing to either Daley Blind or Robin van Persie, who were up in support.
Less than a minute later, though, the Socceroos had equalised courtesy of a Tim Cahill volley that was right out of the Van Persie mould. The former Everton man allowed McGowan's knock forward to come across him, and struck superbly with his weaker foot past Cillessen, via the underside of the crossbar. It was exceptional technique, and showed that he has more than a bullet header in his locker!
After the goal of the tournament contenders, the half ended on a sour note for both sides with Cahill cautioned while thumping into Martins Indi to leave the Dutch defender in need of a stretcher. Cahill picked up a caution for the offence and will now be suspended for the game against Spain.
KICKOFF: The second half is underway, and there is immediately a goal disallowed at the Dutch end as Leckie pokes the ball home from close range, only to be called back for an apparent foul on Janmaat. That is a soft free-kick and Netherlands are very fortunate there that they were not punished for an embarrassingly slow start to the second period. It was just a simple long ball which caused them problems.
BOOKING: Van Persie is shown a yellow card for throwing his arm in the direction of Spiranovic, which means, like Cahill, he will be banned for his country's final group game. Having had a second glance at that, though, he is lucky that he did not see red as there was definite intent behind the elbow.
SAVE! Sneidjer is nicely teed up and takes fly from 25 yards and Ryan tips the ball around the post. It may have been going wide, but the young Australia keeper was taking no chances.
SUBSTITUTION: The tiring legs of Mark Bresciano are taken off just seven minutes into this second half, and former Reading trainee Olivier Bozanic, is on in his place in the three-man midfield.
PENALTY! Bozanic has an immediate impact, running down the left edge of the box and crossing against Janmaat, who is adjudged to have handled the ball by referee Haimoudi! It definitely strikes his outstretched arm, but Janmaat was only a couple of yards away, so perhaps a little harsh.
GOAL! AUSTRALIA 2-1 NETHERLANDS (MILE JEDINAK)
Crystal Palace and Socceroos skipper Jedinak steps up to smash the ball into the bottom left corner from 12 yards, with Cillessen diving the wrong way. Netherlands were on top of the world five days ago, but, all of a sudden, trail to Australia. Who saw this coming? Me neither!
Bozanic is involved in another attack, but his ball onto the overlapping McKay is slight too strong, and the midfielder's clip to the back post, aimed towards Cahill, is nodded clear by Vlaar.
GOAL! AUSTRALIA 2-2 NETHERLANDS (ROBIN VAN PERSIE)
Australia's lead is short lived and again the Dutch's star attackers are clinical when given the chance. Depay threads a ball through a congested penalty area, and Van Persie is played onside by left-back Davidson on the far side of the area. The Manchester United hitman turns and unleashes a powerful shot into the roof of the net, leaving Ryan with no chance. Again we have a quick response, in an enthralling game!
SHOT! The Dutch nearly turn it around with a second in two minutes as Robben races down the right, charging into the area before going down the outside and prodding with his weaker foot towards the near post, but Ryan is well positioned to make a block. Holland's tails are up now.
Van Persie is incredibly lucky to still be on the pitch, having clattered Jedinak with a very late scissor tackle. A melee ensues, with De Jong in the thick of it of course. Australia point out that the striker has already been booked, and there is protest on the sidelines, but the referee takes no action.
CHANCE! Australia really should score! It's a great opening for Oar, who is caught in two minds when he has the ball on the left side of the box, 12 yards out with nobody around him. He could shoot, but he instead crosses to Leckie, but there is way too much pace on the pass and the winger can only get himself in a position to chest goalwards, and Cillessen saves when more composure would surely have seen him beaten.
GOAL! AUSTRALIA 2-3 NETHERLANDS (MEMPHIS DEPAY)
This is the definition of an end-to-end game! Thirty seconds after narrowly escaping at the other end, the Dutch take the lead for the second time in the match, courtesy of a long-range strike from Depay. It's a decent hit from the substitute, and it bounces a foot in front of Ryan, who parries it into the corner. It was a sweet 25-yard hit, but fairly central and Ryan should really have got down to it.
BLOCKS! Netherlands have really stepped it up a gear in this last five minutes, but heroic defending from Australia keeps them in it. Depay gets to the left byline and squares towards Robben, but Spiranovic stretches to make an excellent block, and a minute or so later, when Robben is the provider for Sneijder, Wilkinson is on hand to throw his body in the way 15 yards from goal.
SAVE! The Dutch are sniffing a fourth that would surely kill this game off. Robben is again at the heart of the move, and picks out De Jong, whose side-footed effort from 12 yards out was certainly going inside the post before Ryan dived low to his right to make an excellent stop.
Desperation from Leckie as he tries to earn the Aussies a second penalty. He does collide with Janmaat, but it was an incidental collision, after he had knocked the ball way out in front of him.
SUBSTITUTIONS: Three changes to tell you about in total, with, most recently, De Guzman having been taken off and replaced by Georginio Wijnaldum. For Australia, both Oar and Cahill are off as Postecoglou goes for the youthful legs Ben Halloran and Adam Taggart, who is prolific in the A-League.
After Davidson goes to the floor theatrically to win a free kick, Jedinak smashes the set piece straight into the wall. Time is running out for Australia as we enter the final nine minutes in Porto Alegre. Should they fail to find another equaliser, the Socceroos face possible elimination before the night is up.
One thing you can guarantee is that Australia will not give up. They displayed their fighting spirit right up until the final whistle against Chile, and I expect nothing less of them here.
SUBSTITUTION: Van Persie is taken off for the final few minutes, with Jeremain Lens replacing the Dutch skipper, who really could have left the pitch earlier had it not been for the referee's leniency.
Bozanic's free-kick delivery from the right is a bit short and headed clear. Australia eventually recycle play, but McGowan's knock forward is too deep and Cillessen allows it to run behind.
THREE minutes of stoppage time will be added on. Is there time for any more drama?
Australia take a free-kick quickly when they may have been better off loading the box and just seeing what happens. Blind climbs above McGowan in the air at the box post and carries the ball upfield.
CHANCE! Lens nearly wraps it up with a third, but Ryan saves well at his near post.
FULL-TIME: AUSTRALIA 2-3 NETHERLANDS
Another five-star game at this World Cup ends with Netherlands overcoming a dogged Australia. The Socceroos came from behind, before the Dutch did the same with a quickfire second-half double to secure maximum points from their two opening Group B games. Australia are bottom, and pointless.
The last 16 likely awaits Holland, and their qualification into the knockout stages will be confirmed tonight if Spain fail to beat Chile. Australia will be condemned to elimination if Chile do not lose.
We saw two brilliant goals this afternoon, with Arjen Robben's 50-yard run and finish cancelled out by Tim Cahill's stunning left-footed volley, 60 seconds later. Both he and Robin van Persie, who equalised for Holland after Mile Jedinak's penalty, are suspended for their country's final group games. Substitute Memphis Depay got the winner with a 30-yard shot that Aussie keeper Mat Ryan should have kept out.
That's it from me on an afternoon where Australia take the plaudits, but Netherlands take the points. Thanks for joining Sports Mole, and be sure to stay with us for Spain vs. Chile, an 8pm kickoff.
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
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