Wesley Sneijder dumped favourites Brazil out of the World Cup as Holland finally got the better of their South American nemesis.
But they had to come from behind to avenge their heartbreaking defeats of 1994 and 1998 and book their place in the semi-finals.
Robinho, who had already had an effort ruled out for offside, fired the Brazilians ahead with just 10 minutes gone, and the Dutch struggled to cope during the opening 45 minutes.
But Felipe Melo's 53rd-minute own goal gave them fresh impetus and Sneijder won it 22 minutes from time as Melo was dismissed for stamping on Arjen Robben.
However, Holland will have to do without both full-back Gregory van der Wiel and midfielder Nigel de Jong for Tuesday's semi-final in Cape Town after both collected second bookings.
Dutch legend Johan Cruyff had claimed dismissively before the game that he would not pay to watch this Brazil team, and if he did stay away from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, he may have been glad he did so at half-time.
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