Rise of a Football God

After a week of tension and spell-binding games, finally, the Round of 16 stage of the FIFA World Cup was finally over.

The Quarterfinal draws were confirmed immediately.

[Quarterfinal Draw:]

Netherlands vs Brazil. England vs Portugal. Nigeria vs Sweden. Croatia vs Argentina.

…

Football fans had 2 days of rest, 2 days to digest the result of the thrilling Round of 16, and then World Cup football resumed on the 15th of July.

[FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarterfinal]

[Match 1: Netherlands vs Brazil]

[Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, USA]

[Date: July 15th, 2026]

[Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)]

The first game of the Quarterfinal.

It was a balmy L.A evening, perfect for football and fireworks, both in the sky and on the pitch.

This fixture had a pretty grimy history attached to it.

The Ghost of 2010, rewritten or repeated?

It was already sixteen years since that fateful 2010 quarterfinal, where the Netherlands dumped out Brazil in South Africa, and now, the Selecao had their chance at redemption at exactly the same knockout stage.

But these weren't the same Dutchmen either.

Under Ronald Koeman, the Oranje had found steel to match their style.

And under Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil had rediscovered calm, class, and a controlled chaos that turned sparks into infernos.

This was not just football. It was fate circling back.

The starting lineups were released approximately an hour before the game.

Netherlands started in their classic 3-4-1-2 with Justin Bijlow in goal, while ahead of him was the defensive trio of Jurrien Timber and Nathan Ake, led by the stalwart Virgil van Dijk who also captained the Netherlands national football team.

Ahead in midfield was the quadruple of Denzel Dumfries, Frankie de Jong, Teun Koopmeiners, and Tyrell Malacia.

Xavi Simons was the sole attacking midfielder with freedom in the middle of the park, while further ahead were the 2 strikers, Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay.

For Brazil, they started in a 4-3-3 formation with Alisson Becker in goal, while ahead of him was the defensive quadruple of Danilo, Marquinhos, Eder Militao, and Renan Lodi.

In midfield was the trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta, and Joao Gomes, while the attacking trio were Raphinha, Neymar who captained the side, and a Vinicius Jnr. who was back to the lineup, benching Rodrygo.

This time, Carlo Ancelotti took the bold decision of playing Neymar in the false 9 position but knowing him and his ways, there was every likelihood that the front trio would interchange positions throughout the game, playing freely.

FWEEE!

The referee's whistle kickstarted the game.

The game began at a blistering pace.

While Netherlands settled down, trying to slow down the pace to a level they were comfortable at, Brazil pressed on, tearing every convention down.

Raphinha roared down the left wing like a bullet train. Malacia struggled. Neymar, floating between the lines, found Vinicius Jnr. early with a through ball…

As early as the 7th minute, Brazil was about to score, but then… SAVE!

Vinicius's low drive was parried wide by an alert Bijlow. An early warning.

But the Dutch responded. Koeman's side transitioned brilliantly. Gakpo and Simons were fluid, finding seams in Brazil's midfield.

That was until Brazil rolled back the years with a moment of magic in the 18th minute of the game, ending with a vintage goal.

It was Neymar Jnr. at his best. Starting from a one-two with Paqueta, then a shimmy past Koopmeiners, and Neymar dinked it gently over Bijlow.

1-0 Brazil.

BOOM!

The stadium exploded with euphoria.

Neymar ran to the bench, arms outstretched, vindicated and vital.

But the Dutch didn't crumble.

In the 33rd minute of the game, they got their equalizer.

Xavi Simons surged forward, drawing two defenders to himself as the Brazilians responded to his threat, and then he slipped it to Gakpo who opened his body and curled it past Alisson.

1-1.

Game on. The Oranje were back on their feet.

The first half came to an end 1-1. By halftime, from the buzzing tension, the tension in the stadium rose to a fever pitch.

The atmosphere was electric in the stadium.

The second half started and not content with the scoreline, Brazil turned up the tempo. Ancelotti made a bold call: off went Joao Gomes, and on came Rodrygo.

Now, he played with literally 4 men in attack!

The Brazilian pace turned terrifying.

And then, in the 61st minute of the game, Brazil's fearsome attack struck.

Rodrygo's first touch was an assist to Vinicius.

His first touch was a burst, his second was a rocket. Vinicius cut inside Ake, a literal ankle breaker move, and then blasted it near post.

The net bulged.

The goalkeeper was rooted to one spot.

2-1 Brazil.

LA shook.

The atmosphere and tension in the stadium rose even higher.

Netherlands regrouped, probing, poking, trying to exploit Brazil's offensive zeal to break their defense open, but Brazil smelled blood.

And then, in the 71st minute, they struck again.

It was a full-team move this time. Paqueta to Neymar, Neymar to Rodrygo, and Rodrygo squared to Raphinha, who simply tapped it in.

3-1 Brazil.

Samba football!

A goal made in heaven, rehearsed in dreams.

The Dutch, valiant to the end, pulled one back through Memphis Depay in stoppage time.

It was a thunderbolt from 25 yards.

3-2.

But it was a little too late.

The Dutch pushed some more, but Brazil held on till the end.

FWEEE!

[FULL-TIME: Netherlands 2-3 Brazil]

And with that, Brazil snatched a semi-final berth for themselves. Revenge exacted. Hearts stolen. A match worthy of legends.

Neymar won the man of the match award for his all-round play all game, his 1 goal, 1 assist, and 7 dazzling successful dribbles.

Like the commentator said:

"In a game of giants, Neymar proved he's still Brazil's most luminous star".

The post-match reactions were crazy, fans online raving over the fluidity, freedom, and flair of Carlo Ancelloti's Brazil side.

During the post-match interview, trust Neymar to taunt and poke some fun at haters.

"They said I was finished," he grinned. "I say I'm just getting started".

Carlo Ancelotti was his usual cool self in front of the media. "We played with intelligence and courage. This team is a family".

Netherland's Xavi Simons also faced the media after another standout performance, though he ended up on the losing side this time.

He was emotional.

"We gave everything. Sometimes the game gives, sometimes it takes. But this hurts".

He may have lost, but his performance won the hearts of fans.