WITH both Netherlands and Chile already through to the round-of-16 with both teams winning their opening two games, the little matter which remains to be decided in Group ‘B’ is which team tops the section.

Topping the group is vital for both teams’ chances of progressing further at the World Cup.

The group winners are likely to avoid a potential clash against Brazil in the knockout stage with the hosts seemingly on their way to winning Group ‘A’.

“If you look ahead a bit, in theory you are better off than if you come second,” Netherlands captain Robin van Persie said at a press conference on Friday.

“We want to secure first place and then we’ll see what happens,” added the 30-year-old who will be out of the match against Chile at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians on Monday after picking up a second yellow card of the tournament in their 3-2 win over Australia.

That win came after their stunning 5-1 hammering of already-deposed world champions Spain in their opening game but Van Persie remains wary of Brazil.

“I’d really like to play Brazil but a little bit later in the tournament,” said Van Persie, who was a part of the Dutch side which beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.

Chile ensured their spot in the last 16 after a pulsating 2-0 win over Spain on Wednesday having already beaten Australia 3-1 in their opening match.

Spain face Australia in the other Group ‘B’ match on Monday in Curitiba with nothing more than pride to play for following their dismal defence of the title they won four years ago in South Africa.

A defeat in their final game would officially make their defence of the World Cup the worst in history.

“We are at a World Cup, we may be eliminated but we need to win and take some points so that we are not last in the group,” said Spanish defender Raul Albiol at a press conference on Saturday.

“We are representing our country and these are the last 90 minutes. Unfortunately we will be going home afterwards, but the fact it is a World Cup is enough to motivate us.”

Albiol’s fellow centre-back Gerard Pique is a doubt for Monday’s clash after he left training on Saturday with some discomfort in an adductor muscle.

The match could also be a final farewell for Spanish veterans Iker Casillas, who has had a miserable time in goal during two games, and Xavi Hernandez, who was on the bench for the game against Chile.

Australian midfielder Tim Cahill will be out for Monday’s clash after a second caution of the tournament but captain Mike Jedinak has vowed his team is only focusing on piling on the misery on Spain.

“It’s going to be up to us again to go out there and get something out of the Spanish, and try to force our game on them,” he said on Friday.

“We’ve done that in both of those games and although we haven’t come away with anything it’s time we make that right.”

The game in Curitiba will only be a sideshow to the events which unfold in Sao Paulo with teams in Group ‘A’ set to take keen interest before playing later on Monday.

The Dutch only need a draw against Chile to top the group but Van Persie believes it won’t be an easy task.

“They looked very good [against Spain]. They looked fit, they look strong, they play together,” he said. “So we’ve got a big task. It will be very hard to at least draw against them.”

Chile, meanwhile, face an anxious wait to see if key midfielders Arturo Vidal and Chales Arnaguiz will be fit for the match against the Netherlands.

Both missed training on Friday after coming off injured during their match against Spain and are also on a yellow card, meaning that another booking would see them miss the last 16 clash.

But such is the belief in the squad that even Vidal, singled out for his masterful display against Spain as he pulled the strings behind forwards Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas, is confident his team-mates could handle his absence.

“This squad is showing how great it is and that’s why I’m not thinking about that yellow card, nor that I’m be suspended. I just hope to play and be in the group, that’s the mentality of this group,” Vidal told El Mercurio newspaper.

Chile’s best result at a World Cup came on home soil in 1962, when they finished third after losing to Brazil in the semi-finals.

They reached the last-16 at the World Cup in 1998 and 2010, only to exit at the hands of Brazil on both occasions.

Coming top of Group ‘B’, and avoiding the Selecao in the knockout rounds this time seems imperative.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd , 2014