Brazil survived a huge scare to edge past Chile into the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
A titanic second-round battle in Belo Horizonte saw Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties after the South American rivals finished extra time locked at 1-1.
Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar was the hero, saving twice in a nerve-shredding shoot-out before Chile defender Gonzalo Jara’s final spot-kick struck the post to hand the hosts victory.
The Brazilian people needed this, and so did the players. We knew how difficult it would be...
The penalty drama unfolded after a pulsating game at the Mineirao Stadium which saw Chile almost snatch victory in the closing minutes of extra-time when substitute Mauricio Pinilla’s shot crashed back off the woodwork.
“If you don’t exploit the few opportunities you get, you can go out,” relieved Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said afterwards.
“We almost paid the price in the 118th minute when the ball hit the bar.”
Brazil, roared on by their partisan support, started strongly, taking the lead through a goal credited to David Luiz after 18 minutes. Neymar swung a corner in from the left and the defender rose to turn the ball into the net. But Chile came back and equalised after 32 minutes, Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez punishing slack play in the penalty area to slot past Cesar.
In the shoot-out, both teams missed spot-kicks to leave Neymar as Brazil’s fifth and final penalty-taker. The Brazilian poster-boy duly tucked away his penalty to make it 3-2 and when Jara missed, the hosts celebrated.
“He is 22 but he plays as if he were 35,” purred Scolari when asked about Neymar’s pressure spot-kick. “He handles the pressure naturally. He is so strong mentally and you could see even when we was 17 or 18 that he was ready.”
Hail Cesar Brazil’s goalkeeping hero Cesar had broken down in tears just before the shoot-out, highlighting the excruciating tension of the moment.
“The Brazilian people needed this, and so did the players. We knew how difficult it would be,” said Cesar. “I hope that our coming matches don’t go to penalties, because otherwise our families will end up having heart problems.”
Penalties – how they happened!
Hosts Brazil escaped Chile 3-2 on a penalty shoot-out to reach the World Cup quarter-finals Saturday, thanks to two saves from Julio Cesar, the goalpost and successful spot kicks from David Luiz, Marcelo and Neymar.
The whole of Brazil held its breath as penalties were required to decide a round of 16 game that was tied 1-1 after 120 minutes. Brazil won their third out of four shoot-outs at a World Cup, losing the first one in the 1986 quarters against France before succeeding from the spot in the 1994 final against Italy and the 1998 semis against the Netherlands.
The shoot-out against Chile went as following, with Brazil starting:
1-0 David Luiz beats Daniel Bravo into the left corner
1-0 Mauricio Pinilla aims straight at Julio Cesar
1-0 Substitute Willian sends Bravo into wrong corner but aims wide left
1-0 Alexis Sanchez aims low left but Cesar dives to stop the ball for his second save
2-0 Marcelo aims mid-high left to beat Bravo
2-1 Charles Aranguiz smashes the ball into the roof of the net to revive Chile's hopes
2-1 Hulk aims right at Bravo
2-2 Marcelo Diaz sends Cesar diving to his left and scores into the middle of the goal to level matters after four penalties each
3-2 Neymar keeps his cool and beats Bravo into the low left corner
3-2 Gonzalo Jara is denied by the right post which gives Brazil victory
