Brazil Hanging Onto The Post in Rio

Gonzalo Jara strikes the post in the final spot kick
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

3 inches of the crossbar saved Brazil in extra time as Mauricio Pinilla crashed his shot on 120 minutes. 3 inches of the post sent Brazil into the quarter finals in a tense penalty shootout. Brazil were hanging on by all of 6 inches at the end of it, largely second best throughout the encounter.

Charles Aranguiz and Marcelo Diaz ran the midfield for Chile, Alexis Sanchez a valuable outlet along with Arturo Vidal anytime a Brazilian attack was snuffed out. Going a goal down after about 20 minutes, Brazil seemed to retreat into their shell, handing Chile a chance to control the tempo of the game, and Luiz Felipe Scolari was far from satisfied.

Scolari gesturing to his players
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

Neymar was quiet after the first half, Fred was like a passenger in the old Flinstones vehicle. There was no creativity on the part of Brazil, with Oscar being non-existent throughout the 120 minutes. Brazil will have to do better against Colombia. 

A mistake allowed the ball to roll to Alexis Sanchez, who gave Julio Cesar the eyes and slotted the ball into Brazil's net. Cesar would later though, redeem himself in the shootout against Sanchez. 

It seemed yesterday that Brazil's players were over-reliant on Neymar.
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

Hulk offered some pace against the Chilean defence, but Brazil needed more. Chile though were absolutely marvelous. Many of them whose parents were miners back in Santiago, ran themselves into the ground and abided by Jorge Sampaoli's tactics. And what tactics they were. Sanchez and Vidal never let David Luiz rest, and it could have been a totally different story had Pinilla put the ball past Cesar in the dying seconds. Brazil though, have work to do.

Scolari visibly unhappy.
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

And Colombia will make them work very, very hard for a place in the semi finals. "Ole ole, ole ole, Hoy mi Colombia va a ganar" the fans chanted, as they filled the Cathedral of football at Rio's Maracana. "Today my Colombia will win." And win they did. 

The way they went about it though, was simply stunning. David Ospina between the sticks was unbreakable, but the players in front of him were equally great. James Rodriguez, take a bow sir, take a bow. A moment which will be revisited a thousand times over, that volley on his left foot will linger in the memory of many. 

By far the best strike in this year's World Cup
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

He tangoed gracefully with Juan Cuadrado all night, himself a professional dancer, and the duo ran rings around a toothless Uruguay who never had a sniff or even a chance to bite all night. The Colombian defensive wall is quite impressive, having conceded only a couple of goals, going into their 5th match against Brazil. Jose Peckerman will be licking his lips knowing he has a Superman in his ranks. Scolari will have lots of talking to do. 

Scolari needs a lot more talking to give his Brazilian players.
(Pic Courtesy of FIFA.com)

Tonight's matches.

Netherlands v Mexico

It is imperative that the Dutch do not go into the game against Mexico thinking it is already a done deal. Brazil were taken to the brink by the men in green, and Van Gaal will have his work cut out, to get the tactics set just right against the speedy Mexicans. 

Robben and Van Persie will be key to how the Dutch set up, and they could be asked to play through Rafael Marquez to test his speed on the ground. On paper, the Dutch should win this, but as is known, games are not won on paper. When it comes to class though, the Dutch might just edge this encounter. 

My take: Netherlands 3-1 Mexico

Costa Rica v Greece

Another of those surprise packages come up tonight in Costa Rica, and they have been nothing but amazing. Jorge Luis Pinto has got his players performing to their fullest capability, and in the same vein, releasing the shackles off Bryan Ruiz and Joel Campbell. Christian Bolanos meanwhile, provides a solid out ball when the team is under pressure, as he is more than willing to take his man on along the right wing. 

This will not be a high-scoring affair, as the Greeks are not known to score plenty of goals. Costa Rica have the ability to rack up a few, but usually rely on teams coming onto them and springing on the break, as seen in their encounters with Uruguay and Italy. 

This game in theory, could go either way, but Costa Rica might just have a slight advantage due to their pace, and quickness of thought in their players to unlock the Greek vault. 

My take: Costa Rica 1-0 Greece

Till next time