Come on yes, but what a thrill! Brazil eliminates Chile and qualifies for the quarterfinals, where on July 4th they will face Colombia, winners of the other eighth against Uruguay. But if it was a matter of ordinary administration for the Cafeteros, the same cannot be said for the Seleçao. In fact, Scolari's men needed penalty kicks to get the better of Chile, who proved to be a tough and determined opponent. And so the hero of Belo Horizonte is not Neymar but Julio Cesar: the former Inter goalkeeper saved two penalties which, thanks to Jara's last shot on the post, earned them qualification. First it was total balance, with Brazil leading in the 18th minute thanks to David Luiz's paw and la Roja able to equalize in the 32nd minute with Sanchez, favored by a mistake from the Hulk. In short, no bailado football in samba style, but a nice garra much closer to the Chilean style. The match thus dragged on beyond the 90th minute and the guests almost took him home, but Pinilla's shot hit the crossbar. So inevitable penalties and Brazil was better there, both in the scoring phase (David Luiz, Marcelo and Neymar scored) and neutralizing (Pinilla and Sanchez saved, Jara's shot on the post). Maximum result without enchantment for the Seleçao, as indeed in the whole world, but big party and appointment in Colombia in Fortaleza. Yes, the Cafeteros never cease to amaze! After "rolling" Greece, the Ivory Coast and Japan in the group stage, they did it again against Uruguay. In a Maracana equally divided between the two fans, a tense and entertaining match was staged, in which the decidedly superior technique of Pekerman's team prevailed. In fact, without Suarez, Uruguay proved to be little while Colombia showed once again all their talent. Impressive James Rodriguez, now solitary top scorer with 5 goals. Yesterday he scored two of which one (the first) of rare beauty: in the 28th minute the jewel of Monaco controlled the ball with his chest before sending it behind Muslera with a left-footed volley from over 25 metres. The second was much more "ordinary", but perhaps even more important, because it allowed Colombia to close the conversation (50').
Today is the turn of the Netherlands and Costa Rica, who will play against Mexico and Greece respectively. On paper, the match not to be missed is that of the Oranje, who at 18pm will challenge the Mexicans in the furnace of Fortaleza. “You can't play at 13pm (local time, ed) with 32° – thundered Van Gaal in the press conference. – Fifa will have to give us timeouts”. Likely that this will happen, but in any case the climate could favor Mexico, thus shortening the technical gap between the two teams. Less captivating, but not for this obvious, the eighth of the 22 between Costa Rica and Greece. A match between two great surprises of this World Cup will be staged in Recife: no one on the eve thought that the Ticos could pass in a group with Italy, England and Uruguay and even the Greeks did not enjoy particular credibility. And instead they will be the ones to play for the pass to the quarterfinals, while the others will watch in front of the TV.
