Cape Town, Jul 7 (DPA): Downcast Uruguay boss Oscar Tabarez Tuesday said his team must shake off the pain of a World Cup semi-final loss to the Netherlands before Saturday's third-place playoff.

Goals from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben eclipsed Uruguay's two strikes in Cape Town's Green Point stadium to send the Dutch into their first final since 1978.

Uruguay will face the losers of Wednesday's other semi-final match between Germany and Spain.

"We have to ... get rid of our sorrow over the match as there are many other things to do, to play whoever has to play against us for third place," Tabarez said after the game.

"It will be another opportunity to show people what Uruguay wants ... it wants to play at an equal level with others and show their fair play with pride beyond the limitations of our team," he added.

Two-time champions Uruguay, the smallest nation ever to win a World Cup, were surprise semi-finalists, and Tabarez said he was proud of his men.

"We can say when it comes to looking back ... we are amongst the four finalists, and the other three are powerhouses of Europe," he said. "We know where football in Uruguay stands on a worldwide level, therefore I can say I am proud and happy."

Should Spain triumph in Durban on Wednesday, the playoff in Port Elizabeth could be a repeat of the last time Uruguay reached this stage of the tournament, in 1970.

West Germany were 1-0 winners on that occasion.

Uruguay's captain and top-scorer with four goals, Diego Forlan, was taken off near the end of the Netherlands defeat with an injury.

However, Tabarez said it was not serious, and the star man is expected to be fit for the consolation match.

Tabarez refused to reveal if he would continue as Uruguay coach after the tournament, saying only he would discuss it with the Uruguayan Football Association.