It was a very early start from the Pousada - a 2am drive to Cuiaba airport!. Thankfully our driver did a great job of dodging the cows, horses, caimans and capybaras on the road on the 3 hour drive back to Cuiaba airport in the early morning. An uneventful flight to Porto Alegre and we checked into the hotel and spent the afternoon watching the World Cup and writing in our journals. James flew in around 6pm and we went to a local Churasco restaurant (Braeiros) which was amazing (BBQ's chicken hearts?, local cheese wrapped in flank steak? - meat on a stick! - delicious). Spencer and I thought of Eleanor's love of (mis) steak - she would have loved it.

Next day was Game 2 day against the Netherlands. We had breakfast in the hotel and there was an air of quiet confidence from the Dutch fans and nervousness from the Aussies - were we to be thumped like Spain? - surely they would be too good for us?

Porto Alegre is a pretty town (prettier than Cuiaba at least) and the capital of Rio Grande del Sol. It is very close to Argentina and the locals we spoke to said that they feel a greater affinity to Buenos Aires than Sao Paolo. Home to local clubs Gremio and Internacional, it has a famous Brazilian football heritage - the locals love the world game.

This is also Gaucho country hence why the Churasco was so good. It was clear that the local government took a lot of effort with the World Cup organisation as it was very well done - safe but fun.

We caught the train into the Centro of Porto Alegre to the Mercardo Publico (Public Market). This is a market similar to the one on Adelaide - under cover and full of great fresh produce. We had a look around (loved the slabs of salted cod (Bacalau)- a staple of the local diet. The Dutch fans were already in the swing of it, having hired a bus dj and were playing Dutch disco songs. We left them behind as we walked the "Fan walk" through the City to the Estadio de Beria Rio.

We soaked up the energy as the rest of the fans came into the Stadium and then it was time for Game 2.

What a game! - we played so well and can be justifiably proud. If someone had told me that at one point in the game we would be 2:1 up against the Netherlands I would not have believed them. Tim Cahill's goal was the goal of the tournament so far. Such a shame we couldn't finish more clinically (Leckie in particular - you cant chest it into the goal! - next time put your head on it!). Given that the majority of the team were under 22 there is plenty of potential for the future and with nothing left to lose next game - bring on Spain!

Emotionally drained from the game, we went to the Fan Fest site to watch Chile complete Spain's terrible World Cup. It was getting cold as the sun was setting so we walked back into town, had a quick bite for dinner and then headed back to the Hotel - next day was our early flight to Rio de Janeiro.