DHAKA: Furious Netherlands head Coach Louis Van Gaal blasted FIFA for its refusal to scrap the World Cup's third-place consolation game and insisted the controversial playoff should be consigned to history.

Van Gaal's Dutch side will be forced to play host nation Brazil in Brasilia on Saturday after losing its semifinal to Argentina in a heart-stopping penalty shootout at Arena de Sao Paulo on Wednesday night.

The coach, who takes over English Premier League team Manchester United at the end of the tournament, claimed he has urged soccer's hierarchy to abandon the game for more than a decade, to no avail.

"I think that this match should never be played," said Van Gaal less than an hour after his team's 0-0 tie and subsequent 4-2 loss on penalties. "I have been saying this for the past 10 years.

"We will just have to play the game but it is unfair. We will have one day less to recover and that's not fair play. But the worst thing is, I believe, there is a chance that you lose twice in a row in a tournament in which you've played so marvelously well. You go home as a 'loser' because possibly you've lost the last two matches."

BDST: 1441 HRS, JUL 10, 2014