Saturday, June 28, 2014. 12pm Eastern time, 9am Pacific time. Sábado, 28 de Junho de 2014. 1pm horário de Brasília. Match 49, Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte. vs. Brazil kicks off the 2014 World Cup's knockout stage. The mata-mata begins in Belo Horizonte, as Brazil, Group A winner and host team, squares off against Group B runner-up Chile. The two South American teams have faced each other several times in the World Cup. And every time, Brazil emerged victorious. 2010 World Cup round of 16: Brazil 3, Chile 0 1998 World Cup round of 16: Brazil 4, Chile 1 1962 World Cup quarterfinals: Brazil 4, Chile 2 Last match: Brazil 2, Chile 1 (11/20/2013, friendly match in Toronto, Canada) It should be noted that several of the players who were on the field in the last confrontation are at the World Cup and several will be in Belo Horizonte.
Will be a tough game, but I hope and believe we can win. Felipao is showing a willingness to address deficiencies brought to light by the last two games, and Neymar meeting expectations. I would just highlight that this is incredible, even if it's "expected," because the expectations on Neymar are enormous and he's only 22. It's easy to forget.
C. Azul asked when was the last time Chile beat Brazil? It was on a fateful August night back in 2000 during a World Cup 2002 qualifier in Santiago when Chile crushed Brazil 3-0! As a Brazil fan I'm ashamed to admit that was the ONLY time that I rooted against Brazil! Cause I wanted to see Romario back in the team and I wanted to see Luxemburgo to get canned!! Which later happened!!!
@globoesportecom: Joey Barton elogia #NED e fala do #CHI: "Podem eliminar o Brasil facilmente" http://t.co/56pL2Ktiez #globonacopa Esse Joey Barton fala muito hein....
Deixa eles falarem bastante merda. Vamos ver se eles vao dar conta do Mexico, as Costas (Rica ou de Marfim), e os nossos hermanos queridos.
Hulk is next player we need to axe but in this game, his power and speed might cause problems to Chile.
Esse Barton é inglês e vive falando mal do Neymar. Agora ele mudou o foco um pouco... @piersmorgan If he wins them the World Cup, I will happily eat my words and make a donation to a charity of your choice! #tallyho— 👑 Joey Barton 👑 (@Joey7Barton) June 23, 2014 Aliás, nem tanto....
Tem gente que torce contra sem motivo so pra ser contrarian. O Neymar esta jogando muito. Quem discordar e cego. E se o cara for Ingles tem ainda menos direito de abrir a boca. (See Exhibit A, Group D Results)
Nice. But if we had 11 of him, a Copa estaria no saco. The question is whether one will be enough. A more appropriate lineup would have Neymar alongside 10 traffic cones.
My questions ahead of this game: Did Fernandinho earn his spot in Scolari's eyes? Will Hulk still be a starter? (Not just cause he's played poorly, but today to me he seemed affected by his injury, even if only psychologically). Would love to see Fernandinho and Willian or even Ramires get playing time if the answer to those questions is yes and no in that order. Six days rest, use it well coaches!
Now it gets interesting. Familiar opponents await in Chile and probably Colombia in the quarters. Brazil is well set up to exploit Chile with the standard counter-attacking down the lines. If you contain the Alexis, Vargas, Vidal trio, you win. I'll be interested to see how Chile approaches the match, particularly in how they choose to mark Neymar. I would task Isla with the job instead of letting the third center back be stretched. Chile has no shot if they play Isla as high up as they did against Holland. This is the fundamental problem with a back three, but Chile have the means to correct this problem given they use defensive wide players. The question will be whether or not Sampaoli sacrifices having them so high up the pitch. If not, Brazil will find breakthroughs from those areas just as Holland did. The outside center backs can't be expected to deal with Oscar-Neymar from wide areas. Even Hulk and Fred could make tap-in cameos. Tactically, Colombia poses a bigger threat to Brazil than Chile for me. They have better quality in both defense and attack wide positions.
I'm curious if they are going to use a 3 cbs or a normal back 4. For a lot of this tourney it has been 4-3-3.
Yea. They even switch at half sometimes. I'm just curious if Sampioli views Brazil as playing with 2 strikers or 1.
They used 3 CBs in their last 2 games. I think they only used 4-3-3 vs the Aussies. Let me see if I can find some diagrams...
Vs Australia: Vs Australia (midway second half): Vs Spain: Vs Holland (first half): Vs Holland (late second half):
They'd probably play 3 CBs, I'd think. As unimpressive as Fred has been, he'd have his way with 2 CBs. I'd also be tempted to put Sanchez and Vargas out wide like they have done before to expose the space behind Alves (especially haha) and Marcelo. Doing that, they'd need someone to make runs in the box. Is Vidal's fitness good enough where he can make runs and return? I'd be surprised if they start Valdivia.....
I hope they start Valdivia, he might be able to score a dagger on the CA though. I'd be surprised if Luiz Gustavo, D Luiz, or Thiago Silva let them concede even with all the space that will be out wide.
I'm not sure how much width Isla and Mena will provide (especially Isla, who will be busy with Neymar). There's no way they can ignore the flanks, so Sanchez and Vargas will need to work those areas.
Nice finds. This should be roughly what they choose shape wise, but with Vargas starting centrally (and perhaps a different player than Beausejour on the left). Vargas and Sanchez will move all over. Man marking across the board save for the two CBs working together. Isla will attempt to attach himself to Neymar.
Cant we get rid of Alves? I dont want that open space when he surges ahead leaving the defense vulnurable. Will maicon not be tested at all?