Brazil vs. Chile, 2014 World Cup: Selecao sneak through on penalties

The end of Brazil-Chile was so nerve-wracking to watch. Imagine if you couldn’t watch and had to depend on the word of one dude listening to his phone!

At least that guy didn’t have to deliver bad news.

Colored contact lenses-- including sports-themed ones-- have long been a thing, but something about how the Brazilian flag on these *almost* resembles an actual iris makes them creepier:

No tears on the Brazilian flag today. Not sad ones, at least.

The game was rather scrappy in its opening exchanges, though it didn’t take long for Brazil to assert themselves as the greater attacking threat. By the time they took the lead they’d already gone close through a Marcelo attempt from the edge of the box, and had a good penalty shout turned down after Hulk was tripped by Mauricio Isla.

It took just 18 minutes before the opening goal came, and unsurprisingly it was the result of Brazil capitalising on their big height advantage on a set piece. A corner from Neymar was flicked on by Thiago Silva at the near post, and conveniently right into the path of a lurking David Luiz. Despite pressure from Gonzalo Jara, the defender poked the ball into an empty net to break the deadlock.

David Luiz put Brazil on the board early, but Alexis Sanchez came up with an equalizer. The 45 minutes or so after Sanchez’s equalizer were very even, but Chile began to tire about 80 minutes into the match. Their star, Arturo Vidal, still isn’t fully fit after recovering from a knee injury and had to exit in the 86th minute. Gary Medel also came up injured late, with Jose Rojas replacing him in stoppage time.

As a reminder, penalties are best of five, and completed when one team is no longer mathematically able to beat the other in five rounds of penalties. If the teams are tied after five rounds, they go to sudden death, where each team takes a penalty until one team scores and the other misses in the same round.

Seriously.

Julio Cesar shed some tears before crucial penalty kicks against. Chile. Then he saved a couple...

Oh my god.

Mauricio Pinilla was one inch from being a hero.

Brazil took the lead in the 18th minute through David Luiz, who scored his first career international goal on a corner, but Chile equalized by taking advantage of a Hulk turnover, with Alexis Sanchez netting the 32nd minute equalizer.

The second half was pretty even, with both teams coming up with big chances and forcing their opposing goalkeeper into big saves. Hulk had a second half goal disallowed, while Julio Cesar arguably made the best save of the game, pretty late in the half from point-blank range.

No one’s willing to give Ian Darke a Neymar-style haircut

In their defense:

And that might be a harsh call by the referee. Did the ball hit his shoulder, or farther down on his arm?

What’s the score after 30ish minutes of Brazil-Chile?

Cool, thanks.

But as nice as the goal is, that’s a terrible error by Hulk to set it up. He’s been under serious criticism for his lack of attacking prowess, and he’ll be dropped in no time if he’s adding errors like that to his ineffectiveness up front. That’s also not terrific goalkeeping by Julio Cesar.

Thanks to their lack of height and true central defenders, set pieces were always going to be an issue for Chile. Now they face the issue of fighting their way back into a match against a team that doesn’t have to take any risks.

For Brazil, Fernandinho replaces the unimpressive Paulinho in the midfield pivot. He’ll play alongside Luiz Gustavo, while attackers Hulk and Fred both retain their places despite poor performances to date.

Brazil starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Júlio César; Marcelo, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves; Luiz Gustavo, Fernandinho; Neymar, Oscar, Hulk; Fred.

Match date/time: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

Venue: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

The group stages are over, and now it’s time for the do-or-die sudden death of the knockouts to begin. The round of 16 gets underway on Saturday, with tournament hosts Brazil taking on Chile in Belo Horizonte in what promises to be a fantastic game. Brazil look like they’re really yet to click into top gear, having stuttered en route to topping a fairly simple Group A, and if anyone can take advantage of their vulnerability, it’s the on-form Roja.

Chile too could stay unchanged, though it’s likely that coach Sampaoli will reintroduce Arturo Vidal to their midfield after he was left out of their lineup against the Netherlands while still not at full fitness. If he does drop to the bench, Felipe Gutiérrez is likely to take his place.