No turning back now. On to the knockout phase we go. Only the winners can survive, for the losers the dream ends right then and there.
Round of 16: 1A Brazil vs. 2B Chile
Result: 1-1 after extra time; Brazil advanced 3-2 on penalties
Goalscorers: 18' David Luiz (Chelsea), 32' Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona)
Penalty Shootout
Brazil 1: David Luiz (Chelsea) successful
Chile 1: Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari) unsuccessful
1-0 Brazil
Brazil 2: Willian (Chelsea) unsuccessful
Chile 2: Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona) unsuccessful
1-0 Brazil
Brazil 3: Marcelo (Real Madrid) successful
Chile 3: Charles Aranguiz (Internacional) successful
2-1 Brazil
Brazil 4: Hulk (Zenit) unsuccessful
Chile 4: Marcelo Diaz (Basel) successful
2-2
Brazil 5: Neymar (Barcelona) successful
Chile 5: Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest) unsuccessful
Brazil advance upon winning the shootout 3-2
Bookings: 17' Eugenio Mena (Santos), 40' Francisco Silva (Osasuna), 55' Hulk (Zenit), 60' Luis Gustavo (Wolfsburg), 93' Jo (Atletico Mineiro), 102' Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari), 105+1' Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Significance of bookings: Luis Gustavo will miss Brazil's quarterfinal match. Mena and Silva would've missed the quarterfinal if Chile advanced
Lineups
Brazil (4-2-3-1)
Julio Cesar (Toronto FC); Dani Alves (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (PSG, captain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid); Fernandinho (Manchester City), Luis Gustavo (Wolfsburg); Hulk (Zenit), Oscar (Chelsea), Neymar (Barcelona); Fred (Fluminense)
Changes from last match
Change from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 formation. Fernandinho replaces Paulinho in the starting lineup
Subs:
Jo (Atletico Mineiro) 64' for Fred
Ramires (Chelsea) 72' for Fernandinho
Willian (Chelsea) 106' for Oscar
Chile (5-3-2)
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad, captain); Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Francisco Silva (Osasuna), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Eugenio Mena (Santos); Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Arturo Vidal (Juventus), Marcelo Diaz (Basel); Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Eduardo Vargas (Valencia)
Changes from last match
With Vidal fit enough to return to action, Felipe Gutierrez makes way and goes to the bench
Subs
Felipe Gutierrez (Twente) 57' for Eduardo Vargas
Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari) 87' for Arturo Vidal
Jose Rojas (Universidad de Chile) 108' for Gary Medel
Chile have been knocked out by Brazil in the World Cup a few times and were hoping to snap that streak in this encounter. Chile already had blood on their hands from eliminating one 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup finalist and this team definitely looked like a team that if Brazil were not careful could end their World Cup in a split second. And Brazil just barely hung in there. They started out strong, quickly getting a goal, but after a bad pass from Hulk from Marcelo's throw in, Alexis Sanchez scored a goal that changed the direction of the game. Suddenly Brazil were vulnerable and Chile were confident. Both teams and coaches did what they could to get their second goal but it never came and as the 90 minute mark grew closer, the more and more Chile seemed happy with extra time and maybe penalties. I mean, first world cup knockout match in the tournament and with the host nation involved no less, let's take things to penalty and see how many Brazilians faint or nearly faint. That's an interesting idea of fun. The closest either team came to winning the match in the 90 minutes was Hulk, who looked like he redeemed himself from gifting Sanchez a goal. PSYCHE! He touched the ball with his arm right before he took a shot, so obviously the goal didn't count and Hulk got booked (Ireland were left wishing Howard Webb was referee in their game against France in 2010 World Cup qualifying playoffs, where Thierry Henry handled the ball twice leading up to the decisive French goal and prevented Ireland from reaching the World Cup that year). If it wasn't for Neymar switching his boots at halftime not many non-Brazilian fans would've noticed him through much of the 2nd half. In extra time Brazil had most of the possession but the best chance was Chile's when Mauricio Pinilla's shot at the last minute of extra time hit the crossbar to Julio Cesar's relief. Chile could've won the match right there, but unfortunately it was not to be and penalties loomed. Julio Cesar saved two spot kicks and Bravo saved one: Hulk's (fair to say this was not Hulk's best game). Neymar converted what proved to be the decisive penalty after Gonzalo Jara's shot hit the left post. How crazy was that? Chile were so close to stunning the host nation but once again Brazil gets the better of Chile. Despite this though, many questions surround this Brazilian team, knowing they needed a bit of luck in the end to avoid elimination. In Brazil's defense though, their luck didn't go entirely undeserved IMO. Both Brazil and Chile fought hard and either way it was going to be tough to say goodbye to the losing team.
Elimination Analysis: Chile
This Chilean team was certainly a joy to watch in this tournament and Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli has done a great job at turning Chile into nearly a South American giant just like Brazil or Argentina, or even Colombia maybe. They definitely exceeded expectations, especially since they looked like the 3rd wheel in a group that Spain and Netherlands look set to advance from, but they sucker punched Spain and they got through instead! Their defense was expected to be shaky with only Mauricio Isla playing for a very well known club, but the defense was not bad, and their attacking play was phenomenal. They were a real live wire in this tournament Chile but there were always a lot of doubts in the Round of 16 because it seemed like Brazil definitely had their number and with Brazil being hosts, it seemed impossible for Chile to stop them, but they nearly did it. A fantastic effort but close just couldn't cut it. I definitely hope Sampaoli stays with Chile for at least one more cycle, and if things keep going well for them (and Arturo Vidal, who will be 31 in the next World Cup, stays healthy), then a quarterfinal appearance for this team is certainly not far fetched, and from there the possibilities are abundant. A great performance especially by Alexis Sanchez and his new Barcelona teammate Claudio Bravo, who made a strong case as to why he should start over Marc-Andre ter Stegen with this World Cup run.
Round of 16: 1C Colombia vs. 2D Uruguay
Result: 2-0 win for Colombia
Goalscorers: 28', 50' James Rodriguez (Monaco)
Bookings: 55' Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), 77' Diego Lugano (West Bromwich Albion)*, 78' Pablo Armero (West Ham United)
*Diego Lugano did not play in the match (injury) but received a yellow card after some banter with the referee from the bench
Significance of bookings: Lugano would miss the next match if Uruguay qualified for the quarterfinals and even if he was fit to play
Lineups
Colombia (4-4-2)
David Ospina (Nice); Juan Zuniga (Napoli), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Mario Yepes (Atalanta, captain), Pablo Armero (West Ham United); Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Carlos Sanchez (Elche), James Rodriguez (Monaco); Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), Jackson Martinez (Porto)
Changes from last match
Santiago Arias, Carlos Valdes, Eder Balanta, Alexander Mejia, Fredy Guarin, Juan Quintero, and Adrian Ramos move to the bench, being replaced by Zuniga, Zapata, Yepes, Aguilar, Sanchez, Rodriguez, and Gutierrez. (Rodriguez appeared as a sub in the last match). Change from 4-2-2-2 to 4-4-2 formation.
Subs:
Alexander Mejia (Atletico Nacional) 68' for Teofilo Gutierrez
Fredy Guarin (Inter) 81' for Juan Cuadrado
Adrian Ramos (Hertha BSC) 85' for James Rodriguez
Uruguay (4-4-2)
Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray); Martin Caceres (Juventus), Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid, captain), Alvaro Pereira (Sao Paulo); Maxi Pereira (Benfica), Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio), Egidio Arevalo Rios (Morelia), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid); Edinson Cavani (PSG), Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka)
Changes from last match
Change from 4-3-1-2 to 4-4-2 formation. Luis Suarez (banned for rest of the tournament and more due to the biting incident) and Nicolas Lodeiro left off the starting lineup, making room for Maxi Pereira and Dieog Forlan
Subs:
Cristian Stuani (Espanyol) 53' for Diego Forlan
Gaston Ramirez (Southampton) 53' for Alvaro Pereira
Abel Hernandez (Palermo) 67' for Alvaro Gonzalez
You know it sucks to be Uruguay when your best striker and player does something STUPID like biting Giorgio Chiellini like he's auditioning for Edward in the Twilight movies (newflash, all the movies have been filmed and released, you're like 6 or 7 years too late Suarez!) and is banned for the tournament and you have to start a 35 year old as striker. Nothing against Diego Forlan, who had an impressive World Cup last time in South Africa and in the 2011 Copa America he was ok too, but it's been downhill from there. The only time they played without Suarez in this World Cup, they lost to Costa Rica. By now Colombia are used to their best player, Ramadel Falcao, not being around, and after this match looks like his wingman James Rodriguez has happily taken over as Colombia's star, even borrowing Lebron James's nickname "King James". And the Colombian King James continued his reign with two goals to put Colombia past Uruguay and into the quarterfinals for the first time in Colombia's World Cup history. This put James Rodriguez's total at 5 goals, the current leading scorer of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Aside from those goals, Colombia were free to play their brand of soccer/football most of the match and David Ospina came up with decent saves when he was needed. Ultimately there was very little Uruguay could do to turn things around. And now Colombia has to face Brazil in the Quarterfinals. Will their amazing run continue or will the hosts stop them in their tracks?
Elimination Analysis: Uruguay
Luis Suarez is very talented but very volatile and risky, sort of like playing with fire. And when you play with fire, you get burned. Sometimes. They didn't in 2010. Luckily Luis Suarez's hand ball went unpunished by Asamoah Gyan's penalty miss and then Ghana's subsequent failure in the following penalty shootout. What a crazy ride it's been since then. 4th place in 2010 South Africa, 2011 Copa America winners, but then a complicated qualification journey forced them to qualify for the World Cup after defeating Asian minnows Jordan in playoff games. Uruguay also seemed like a contender in 2013 Confederations Cup. They held their own but ultimately lost to all the difficult competition, the likes of Spain, Brazil, and Italy in that order. Uruguay did manage to avenge their defeat to Italy that summer by beating them 1-0 this time around but Luis Suarez couldn't hold out any longer without biting someone and that left Uruguay up a creek without a piranha, I mean paddle. Uruguay's not short on talent without Suarez, with decent plays like Edinson Cavani, Diego Godin, and Fernando Muslera, but we definitely saw how much they depended on him to be a top team, and his absence is greatly felt. So a lot of thinking and wondering left for Uruguay to do as they hope to impress the next chance they get. I'm sure Brazil is relieved Uruguay can't beat them in this World Cup like they did in 1950.
Up next
1B Netherlands vs. 2A Mexico
1D Costa Rica vs. 2C Greece
Two North America vs. Europe showdowns! Both Netherlands and Mexico have been in good form so far in this World Cup. Both have a lot of offensive fire power and skill in pretty much every position, and this has a look of an exciting and high scoring game. For Netherlands, it's another tough task they must pass if this is the year they finally win their first World Cup. For Mexico, it's a difficult task they must pass to make their first ever quarterfinals appearance on foreign soil. And it's the surprise packages duking it out between Los Ticos and the Pirate Ship. Either Costa Rica or Greece will make their first ever run to the quarterfinals. They've already made history for their respective nations but whose style of play will carry them farther?
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