Jorge Sampaoli’s men overwhelmed Spain in the group stage by snapping into tackles, hunting the ball down in packs and counterattacking with pace and incision. No prizes for guessing that more of the same will be required to topple Brazil today. Playing those high-pressing, quick-break tactics requires clockwork organization and commitment from every outfield player, but when it comes off it can be irresistible.
Brazil’s Achilles’ heel is the space behind Dani Alves when the Barcelona fullback marauds forward. Sánchez, in particular, needs to exploit that opportunity. If the fearsome foursome of the Chilean attack — Sánchez, Vargas, Aránguiz and Vidal --can combine like they did against Spain, then Brazil could be in for a long afternoon.
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| Supporters of Chile cheered before Saturday’s match against Brazil |
Road to the Final
To my mind, this half of the draw looks the more difficult. Should results go as expected — disclaimer: I’m the world’s worst forecaster — then the winner of this match will probably face Colombia in the quarterfinal and then Germany in the semifinal (or France?!). You would probably expect Argentina or the Netherlands to be waiting in the final.
Lineups
Brazil: Júlio César, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo, Hulk, Fernandinho, Fred, Neymar, Oscar, Luiz Gustavo.
Chile: Claudio Bravo, Eugenio Mena, Mauricio Isla, Francisco Silva, Alexis Sánchez, Eduardo Vargas, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara, Charles Aránguiz, Marcelo Díaz.
No surprises in the lineups for either side. Scolari has indeed opted for Fernandinho to partner Luiz Gustavo at the base of midfield. That looks a sensible move; after an uninspiring year at Tottenham, Paulinho has been insipid in this tournament. Fernandinho, who won the English Premier League with Manchester City last season, has been far more dynamic in his cameo performances so far.
Chile brings back Arturo Vidal of Juventus to bolster the midfield. Vidal was struggling for fitness coming into the tournament, but he has a few games under his belt now and was rested for the 2-0 loss to the Netherlands in the last match.
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| A fan wore a Hulk mask in support of Brazil before Saturday’s match against Chile |
Pre-Match Musings
Hello everyone and welcome to Brazil vs. Chile in the first knockout match of World Cup 2014! We’re down to the business end of the tournament now: no second chances, no fretting about goal difference and no waiting on other teams’ results. We could have extra time today, we could even have penalties — we will definitely have drama.
Could the universe possibly allow Brazil to lose this match? You get the feeling it might provoke some kind of earthquake or rip in the space-time continuum. But Brazil’s coach, Luis Felipe Scolari, has picked Chile as a team he had wanted to avoid at this stage and this is a dangerous tie for the host. Scolari has one major decision to make on his lineup: Persevere with Paulinho in midfield or start with Fernandinho, who created one and scored another in the 4-1 win against Cameroon? Fernandinho, slightly more combative, might just get the nod.
Chile isn’t here to make up the numbers though. Star forward Alexis Sánchez has said he expects to beat Brazil, despite Chile having lost all three previous World Cup meetings between the sides in the knockout rounds, including four years ago. For Chile to win, Sánchez has to outshine his Barcelona teammate Neymar (that man again) and Arturo Vidal needs the game of his life to dominate the midfield.
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