"Winning on penalties in your previous match should give you confidence. We took those penalties in an incredible way against Costa Rica," said Van Gaal, whose side will now face Brazil in Saturday's third-place play-off in Brasilia. He mentioned that no one wanted the first penalty. Van Gaal is known for his incredible tactics and game play logic. But today, Netherlands lost against Argentina in the semi-final match. He said that in a tournament, you should not have players play a match for the third and fourth place. It is the worst.

"It's the most terrible scenario, to lose on penalties. At the very least we were equal with them, if not the better team. It's a big disappointment." he added. It was a goalless game, to everyone's surprise and both teams were barely threatened. Only by shootout did Argentina win the match. The game was surprisingly dull as most of the spectators commented-at least for a semi-final match.

"If I had had the opportunity to substitute Jasper I would have done that but I had already used three substitutes so I couldn't," Van Gaal said. "I thought it was necessary to get Van Persie out because he was on his last legs. My feeling was that Huntelaar would make the goal."

Monaco keeper Romero spent two seasons playing under Van Gaal at the Dutch club. He said that he taught Romero how to stop penalties and losing on such hurts given that the player has an exceptional talent and capabilities.