Brazil 1-1 Chile (Pen 3-2): Selecao struggles to advance
Contrary to expectations, Brazil failed to crush their neighboring Chile. The Selecao still advanced to the quarter-finals, but they left the yellow-green fans in suspense.
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| Brazil won after a hard-fought penalty shootout |
GOAL
Brazil: Luiz (18')
Chile: A.Sanchez (32')
The first match of the round of 16 was exciting from the very first minutes. It was understandable that the home team Brazil played an attacking game, but even Chile was not afraid, often pushing their formation high into the opponent's half.
In the 18th minute, Brazil took the lead after a quick combination between the two central defenders. From a corner kick, T. Silva headed the ball across the goal, and the ball rolled into the Chilean net in a chaotic situation. The goal was credited to David Luiz, but watching the slow-motion replay, it seemed like it was an own goal by defender Gonzalo Jara.
With an early lead, it was thought that Selecao would easily crush Chile like the previous 3 encounters at the World Cup. However, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari's team was surprised by the reaction of their neighboring team. Chile's pressure caused the Brazilian defenders to make a series of mistakes.
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In the 32nd minute, after a simple throw-in, the Brazilian defenders lost the ball to Vargas, who crossed to Sanchez in a favorable position, and the Barca striker easily beat goalkeeper Cesar with a shot into the far corner. Finding an early equalizer helped Chile not to be too embarrassed by the giant stature of the 5-time World Cup champion team.
Opportunities were continuously created in just over 10 minutes at the end of the first half. In the 36th minute, in a favorable position, Neymar headed the ball but it hit the shoulder of the opposing defender and flew out. 3 minutes later, it was Fred's turn to shoot over the bar when no one was marking him. In the 42nd minute, Brazil almost paid the price for the lack of concentration of the defense, from a long pass from his teammate, Vidal faced goalkeeper Cesar but his shot was a bit weak.
In the 55th minute, Hulk put the ball in the Chilean net, but he was even shown a yellow card when the referee judged that the Zenit striker had used his hand to play the ball. After that situation, the middle minutes of the second half witnessed Chile's sublimation. The pressure from the opponent made the Selecao really confused.
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The 65th minute was Chile's best chance, in a side attack, the ball was fed into the penalty area for Aranguiz, but his powerful direct shot was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Cesar. In the final minutes of the second half, Brazil had many chances but Jo, Alves and Hulk all missed.
Brazil pressed forward in extra time. However, the Selecao did not create many truly dangerous chances, and Chile had a great chance in the last minute of stoppage time when Pinilla's shot hit the crossbar. The match still had to be decided by a penalty shootout.
Entering the fateful penalty shootout, Brazil proved to be luckier than Chile when they "only" missed 2 penalties while La Roja had 3. Coach Felipe Scolari's students were lucky to win a ticket to the quarter-finals with a total score of 3-2 after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
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| Brazil defeated Chile on penalties with a total score of 3-2. |
LINEUP
Brazil: J. Cesar; Alves, T.Silva, Luiz, Marcelo, Fernandinho (Ramires 72'), Gustavo, Hulk, Oscar (Willian 106'), Neymar, Fred (Jo 64').
Chile: Bravo; Isla, F.Silva, Medel (Rojas 108'), Jara, Mena, Aranguiz, Vidal (Pinilla 87'), Diaz, Sanchez, Vargas (F.Gutierrez 57').
