The round of 16 opens up on Saturday in a 2010 World Cup rematch between hosts Brazil and South American Cinderella, Chile.
Brazil went undefeated in group play with impressive wins against Croatia and Cameroon. A double in each match by 22 year old superstar, Neymar, has him tied for the lead in the prestigious Golden Boot Trophy going into the knockout stages.
Chile will be a challenge to Brazil after successfully getting out of Group B which consisted of 2010 World Cup runner-ups the Netherlands and Champions, Spain. Their 2-0 victory of the holders, which knocked the reigning champs out of the World Cup, exhibited a beautiful display of attack and pressure that Chile provides.
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Chile’s star and Juventus forward, Arturo Vidal believes his team can realize their dreams and beat Brazil “Chile can create a surprise. We’ve beaten the world champions, so we can beat Brazil.” he said.
Brazil’s Coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari also admits that Chile has the potential to beat his team. In fact, the coach has openly discussed his desire to not play Chile, both before the World Cup even began and on Thursday: “I f I could choose I would have picked someone else (to play) as Chile are a good South American team, they have quality, they are organized they have the will to succeed.”
Despite not wanting to play their South American neighbor, The Seleçâo have never lost to their rival on the World Cup stage as they are 3-0 against them including knocking them out four years ago in the round of 16, 3-0.
La Roja is hoping that they can change history against their nemesis as they have never beaten the Seleçâo on Brazilian soil. Overall, Chile is 2-10 against the hosts in their last twelve matches and has surrendered 11 goals to them in World Cup games alone.
Four players have been booked for Brazil, including Neymar. One more yellow card in the match Saturday, and they will be suspended for the quarterfinal match should they advance.
Chile is worried about stars, Gary Medel and Arturo Vidal, both of whom are nursing injuries and missed practice on Thursday. However, both are expected to be full fit for Saturday’s game.
The game is set to kick off at 12:00 PM EST at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. It can be seen on ABC and in Spanish on Univision. If you want to live stream the match, simply go to WatchESPN here and here for a live stream in Spanish.
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