29 Jun 2014

When the dreaded penalties were over on Saturday night, June 28, and the hosts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil advanced to the quarterfinals at the expense of Chile, their most priced player and a nation’s inspiration, Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior went down and wept uncontrollably.

Watched by billions of television viewers across the world and more than 60 000 spectators at the Belo Horizonte stadium, the man affectionately known by his first name knew that their 3-2 penalties victory over their fellow South American counterparts was a huge relief.

Brazil came into the Saturday game under pressure after many soccer pundits believed that their Group A showing was below par.

Many had already predicted a difficult encounter against Chile, who went to the last 16 with famous victories over teams such as Spain, the defending world champions, who unfortunately packed their bags and returned home in the group stages.

The nation’s hope, Neymar, was a closely marked man on the day, with the Chilean defence often at fault for bringing the deadly Barcelona dribbling wizard down.

With a stubborn Chile dictating terms throughout the game, which played for more than 120 minutes before the penalties, the filled to capacity Belo Horizonte stadium seemed an uncomfortable place to be at for the Samba Boys supporters.

It had to be decided by the penalty shootout where exceptional goalkeeper Julius Caesar, voted the Man of the Match, came to the party and blocked two shots before the woodwork came to his rescue in the last Chilean kick by Gonzalo Jara.

Now having a date with Colombia, another South American country in the quarterfinals, Brazil would have to up their game and not only rely on the ball wizardry of Neymar to secure victory and advance to the semi-finals.

In Colombia, they will face a resilient team whose top striker, James Rodriguez, said to be on the wanted list of Manchester United, is comfortably leading the tournament’s top goal scorer’s chat with five goals.

Many already believe if the Brazilians do not change their style of play, which is often characterized by silly mistakes by the defence, then they are living on borrowed time as they will have their hands full against the aggressive Rodriguez, who scored a wonder goal against Uruguay in their 2-0 victory in the other last 16 game from Saturday. ENDS