Top Stories

World Cup: Chile vs. Brazil (Matchday Commentary)

Brazil Chile

After this morning's all-European matchup, a clash of two South American nations awaits. Five-team champions Brazil look to move into the next round when they face Chile (ESPN/ESPN3.com, 2:30 p.m.), with the winner taking on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

Brazil is the obvious favorite in this one, having twice beat Chile in World Cup qualification by a wide margin. Kaka returns to the starting lineup after sitting out Brazil's final group match against Portugal, and the Real Madrid midfielder will be looking to get his tournament on track.

A big game is needed from Humberto Suazo, Chile's top goal-scorer through qualification, who came into the tournament injured and has yet to tally in South Africa. Cracking Brazil's tough defense won't be an easy task, and a big performance from Suazo is necessary to give La Roja a chance.

I'll be providing commentary throughout today's match, so please feel free to follow along and share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below. Enjoy the match.

——————-

FINAL – And Howard Webb blows his whistle, and ends the match. Brazil 3, Chile 0. An emphatic win for Brazil, showing what their stout defense is capable of. Netherlands are next up for the five-time champions, in what will hopefully be a tantalizing match this weekend. That's all from me for now, and remember to check in with SBI for all your World Cup news.

——————-

90th minute – Two minutes of stoppage time as Chile fires wide. Coming up empty against their continental rivals once again.

——————-

90th minute – In search of a fourth goal, Ramires shoots from outside the 18 but it's high and wide.

——————-

88th minute – This is going to be Chile's eighth straight loss against Brazil, and another party for the Selacao.

——————-

86th minute – Under five minutes to go, and Chile is still looking for a goal. Can they get one?

——————-

85th minute – Beausejour flashes one across the goalmouth. Disciplined defending here from Brazil.

——————-

83rd minute – Bastos crosses on for Nilmar, who gets under the ball and heads well over.

——————-

81st minute – Kaka comes off for Kleberson. Not a great day for him, but they're winning this one going away.

——————-

79th minute – Any more goals left in this one? Brazil look the more likely side to do so.

——————-

77th minute – Chile fighting until the end, threatening with a corner as Suazo his the crossbar.

——————-

75th minute – SAVE Cesar. Suazo with some fancy footwork after receiving the ball in the box, and his shot forces a save from Julio Cesar.

——————-

74th minute – SAVE Bravo. Robinho gets behind the defense, and fires in a shot that Bravo keeps out.

——————-

74th minute – Time to start talking up the Netherlands vs. Brazil quarterfinal matchup this weekend. Brazil just playing keep away right now.

——————-

72nd minute – Yellow card for Ramires — silly challenge, and he'll miss the next match. No reason for that tackle.

——————-

69th minute – Michel Bastos finds Kaka after a deep run down the left, but Kaka is once again well off.

——————-

68th minute – Fuentes picks up a yellow for a whack on Luis Fabiano.

——————-

66th minute – Pretty entertaining stuff, as Chile looks for at least one goal, really throwing players forward. A Valdivia shot goes high.

——————-

64th minute – Another Chile free kick that can't beat the wall. They've had some changes in Brazil's area, but haven't been able to produce anything.

——————-

60th minute – 30 minutes left in this one, and it seems like the biggest question left to answer is how many goals Brazil will finish with.

——————-

59th minute – GOAL BRAZIL! Ramires with a surging run through Chile's defense, lays it off to Robinho who curls home a stunning goal from just in front of the 18-year-box. Game over.

——————-

57th minute – They aren't a side that gives up easily, Chile. Lacking that bite in the final third, and crowded out by too many yellow jerseys when in possession.

——————-

55th minute – Robinho and Kaka are each having a quiet night, and tournament, for that matter.

——————-

53rd minute – Brazil holding their shape nicely, stemming and dealing with Chile's attack with ease. It's going to take something special from Suazo or Sanchez to breach Cesar's net.

——————-

51st minute – Juan clears a Chile free kick. Chile getting forward and have to be careful about conceding a third.

——————-

48th minute – Not a whole lot of difference in the early goings. Brazil earns a free kick that Alves skies over as Chile continues to look for a goal.

——————-

45th minute – Two subs for Chile at the half and we're back underway. An early goal for Chile changes this one dramatically, while a Brazil goal puts a stamp on their win.

——————-

HALFTIME – Chile was never going to come into this one and defend from the outset — doesn't fit their style. Of course, that makes it hard to beat a side like Brazil, playing into Dunga's favored style of tough defense and swift counterattack.

——————-

HALFTIME – Impossible comeback for Chile? There has to be a massive psychological barrier considering they've only won seven times against Brazil. Ever.

——————-

HALFTIME – Brazil 2, Chile 0. Brazil far from their best, but taking care of business all the same.

——————-

45th minute – So after 30+ minutes of solid defending, failing to mark on a corner kick triggers Chile's downfall. Into stoppage time — just one minute of that.

——————-

43rd minute – Can Chile muster anything in response? The two goals have sucked the life out of them.

——————-

41st minute – Under five to go in the half, and Brazil on the hunt for three to put this one out of reach in the first half.

——————-

39th minute – Two goals in four minutes and it's hard to see Chile coming back from this.

——————-

38th minute – GOAL BRAZIL! And just like that, the counterattack rolls through the Chilean defense. With Chile bombing forward to get an equalizer, Robinho surges forward on the counter, finds Kaka in the middle, who pokes through to Luis Fabiano, and all he needs to do is round Bravo and score. Brazil 2, Chile 0.

——————-

35th minute – GOAL BRAZIL! Maicon with another dangerous corner that Juan gets on the end of and heads past Bravo. There were three yellow jerseys around that, very few white shirts in sight.

——————-

34th minute – Maicon wins a corner after a Ramires through ball finds him in space. What can Brazil do?

——————-

32nd minute – La Roja have enjoyed the better of the past few minutes, maintaining high pressure and possession. Struggling to deal with Brazil's marking at times.

——————-

30th minute – Suazo shoots from distance after a free kick, straight into the wall. Wasteful.

——————-

28th minute – Play stays in the Chilean box with shouts for a penalty. Juan heads wide, giving Bravo a chance to clear.

——————-

26th minute – Brazil lines up a free kick, looking to do damage from a set piece. Maicon to take… headed away by Fuentes, but Brazil maintain pressure and win a corner.

——————-

24th minute – Chile threatening a bit, keeping Brazil at bay. Suazo sends in a corner that Brazil clears.

——————-

22nd minute – Chile storms on the counter, but Sanchez goes for the shot with power instead of the pass. Fails to test Cesar as it's blocked.

——————-

20th minute – The Chilean wingers vs. Brazilian fullbacks is one of the matchups to keep an eye on. Sanchez and Gonzalez will have to track back and keep tabs on Maicon and Bastos, but the Brazilians can't give up too much space at the back.

——————-

18th minute – Pretty even at this point as Chile is doing well to stifle the Brazil attack, though they've yet to show much encouragement going forward in the past five minutes.

——————-

15th minute – Chile defending well, as Sanchez tracks back to contain Michel Bastos. Ramires tests Bravo with a long shot, easy to handle.

——————-

13th minute – Suazo gets between the Brazilian central defenders, but lifts it rather tamely to Julio Cesar.

——————-

11th minute – Play returns to the midfield more, but Brazil with all of the ball, probing forward.

——————-

10th minute – All Brazil at the moment as Alves finds Kaka in space, but the midfielder shoots poorly wide.

——————-

9th minute – Silva with a swerving shot that Bravo turns around for the corner. Rare shot from him, that one.

——————-

8th minute – Brazil sprays in a couple of corners that Chile clears, though they remain pinned in their own half.

——————-

6th minute – There should be plenty of chances in this one; Brazil will soak up the pressure that Chile will likely bring and aim to strike back swiftly on the counter.

——————-

5th minute – Chile with the ball in Brazil's half for almost the entire first five minutes, but a quick turnover springs Luis Fabiano for a half chance that he skews wide.

——————-

3rd minute – Both sides getting a feel for one another. Have to be familiar with each other, something that should make an interesting game.

——————-

2nd minute – Brazil with a different shape, Felipe Melo out with injured, so Gilberto Silva the only holding midfielder in the lineup.

——————-

1st minute – And we're off. First knockout round match to make it to penalties?

——————-

PRE-GAME – Anthems are over and it's time for the coin toss.

——————-

PRE-GAME – Chile is up against it on this one — they've only scored three goals in past seven games against Brazil, while giving up 26.

——————-

PRE-GAME – Players are out on the field as anthems are played.

——————-

PRE-GAME – Here are the lineups:

CHILE

——————Suazo——————

—Gonzalez—————-Sanchez—

—-Beausejour—Carmona—Vidal—-

Fuentes—–Jara—-Contreras—–Isla

——————Bravo—————–

BRAZIL

———-Fabiano——Robinho—–

——————Kaka——————-

—Ramires—————–Dani Alves—

————-Gilberto Silva—————–

Bastos—-Lucio—-Juan—-Maicon

————–Julio Cesar—————–

Comments

  1. How can Brazil play “poorly” and dominate teams like that? What would be the result if they actually played well?

    Scary.

    Reply
  2. I found this technical analysis of the current Brazil team here:

    http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/06/09/brazil-tactics-world-cup-2010/

    For someone who grew up watching the incredible team that participated in Mexico ’70, it has been hard to get used to the transformation that the team has gone through. All of the country was up in arms with the Parreira team in US ’94, but he won the cup after 24 years. Dunga has gotten similar treatment because of his pragmatic approach and the fact that Brazil does not resemble Brazil anymore. Everyone wants the big stars in the team, but somehow history is in Dunga’s side because playing the ‘best’ players have not given results.

    There are not that many teams in soccer history that could field a talent like Zico, Toninho Cerezo, Falcao, and Socrates as in 1986 and still come out empty. The same can be said for 2006 when they tried to play Kaka, Robinho, Ronaldinho, Adriano at the same time and that team was so dysfunctional.

    I know that it is not pretty but whatever they do now, they do very well. If they win a sixth cup many will probably deplore their style, but that is the curse of being Brazil.

    Cheers

    Reply

Leave a Comment