Brazil needed penalties to claw their way past a brilliantly spirited Chile side as the Round of 16 got off to a thrilling start Pictures: our pick of the best match images
Brazil's defender David Luiz cries as he hugs his team's goalkeeper Julio Cesar after they won their match against Chile following a penalty shoot-out. Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
Brazil's defender David Luiz cries as he hugs his team's goalkeeper Julio Cesar after they won their match against Chile following a penalty shoot-out. Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
Luiz Gustavo will be suspended for Brazil's quarter-final, but Brazil are lucky that Neymar won't be joining him on the sidelines – he kept stealing the ball from Chilean toes, but he also kept kicking Chilean toes, a string of niggly fouls that could very easily have brought his second booking of the tournament. Without him, they wouldn't look much like World Cup winners.
Obviously this is tough on Chile, who have had a fantastic tournament and an excellent match. Their fans are applauding their team off the field through a tear-blurred haze, and rightly so. Their players could not have given more, and pushed Brazil all the way to just before breaking point despite limited resources. The man who missed the final penalty, Gonzalo Jara, has just been released by Nottingham Forest; for this team to be this good is borderline miraculous.
There are grown men sobbing in the stands. Heaven knows what emotions they went through in that game – it was gruelling enough to watch from this office in Kings Cross – or what the scenes would have been had Brazil not won that. That was a thrill, from first to last.
What a start to the knock-out rounds! Drama! Skill! Scurrying about! Goals! Tears! It had the lot, and Brazil twice came the width of the woodwork away from possible defeat, first with Pinilla's late shot, and then Jara's penalty. This is not a good Brazil team, but someone's still got to beat them and nobody has yet.
Brazil celebrates. Photograph: Alex Grimm/FIFA via Getty Images Photograph: Alex Grimm - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
GONZALO JARA MISSES! Brazil 3-2 Chile. BRAZIL GO THROUGH!
Jara's penalty is pretty decent, but Julio Cesar goes the right way, gets his fingers to the ball and tips it onto the post! My mistake – he just hits the post, with the keeper beaten.
Gonzalo Jara beats Julio Cesar but not the woodwork. Photograph: Buda Mendes/Getty Images Photograph: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Pinilla, who hit the bar with that late chance, calmly addresses the ball but sidefoots it down the middle – a poor penalty, and Julio César stands tall and saves.
Chile's forward Alexis Sanchez looks on before the beginning of the extra time during the Round of 16 football match between Brazil and Chile in Belo Horizonte. Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images
120 mins: Chile hit the bar! From nothing, Pinilla beats Thiago Silva at the edge of the penalty area and thunders a shot into the meat of the crossbar.
Blimey that was close. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
Mauricio Pinilla can't believe it. Photograph: Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images
117 mins: "Serious question wats up with Sanchez and his shorts," asks Tafadzwa Muchena. It's a fair point – his shorts appear to have been shrinking as the game's gone on. They're now barely reaching the top of his thighs.
114 mins: Hulk takes on Mena on Brazil's right but then pulls up, clutching his eye. Mena did throw out his arms, but only made contact with a jaw. Still, it ain't Rivaldo. He wins a free-kick.
113 mins: The last minute featured perhaps my all-time favourite penalty appeal – not sure which Brazil player was responsible, on the far side of the pitch, but Sánchez was at least 15 yards onside – and probably the most wayward shot of the entire tournament from Chile.
112 mins: Brazil win a free-kick, about 40 yards out, and randomly thump it about 15 yards wide. Bravo hoofs his goal kick all the way down to Julio Cesar at the other end.
109 mins: Isla watches the ball roll out of play, but Willian arrives at the last moment to nick the ball off him. Webb decides it went out of play first, which I think is his first significant mistake of the game. "I think Webb has done a fine job in a very difficult match," enthuses KJ Peters. "But if Chile wins he should flee the country ASAP."
106 mins: Neymar escapes down the left, beating Isla, and Medel acrobatically clears his cross. Neymar's corner finds Jô at the near post, who heads over.
Brazil will bring Willian on for the last quarter-hour, Oscar coming off. Gary Medel is having his thighs massaged and wrapped in ice packs. He's been excellent here, but Chile him to keep going.
105 mins:Chile had nothing of the first 12 minutes of extra time, and all of the following couple, even if their attack petered out without a chance being created.
102 mins:Brazil are hogging the ball here, their possession ending with Hulk crossing from the right and Oscar's header from beyond the far post being collected by Bravo.
98 mins: "Chile have grown in confidence as the game has worn on," writes Raghuram Cadambi. "Brazil, sadly, look a bit like England here - they all seem way too scared to make a mistake." I do see quite a lot of Englishness in this Brazil display, even down to the controversially-disallowed goal – very Portugal in 2004.
96 mins: Neymar gives away another free-kick, but remains unbooked. I don't think Fernando's right on this, but I do think he probably reflects the prevailing opinion in Brazil.
94 mins: Some very cool defending by Medel, who reaches the ball just before Jô and then goes past him with a little shuffle, with nobody but the keeper behind him in case of accident.
93 mins:Brazil send a long ball through but it seems to hold up off the turf and Bravo only just reaches it before Jô, whose flying boot lands only on the keeper's chest.
90+3 mins: Howard Webb blows his whistle, and we're going to have another half-hour of this. It's been fun, but increasingly imprecise. Chile are knackered, and Brazil aren't very good.
90+2 mins: Marcelo Diaz's 30-yarder is rolling so wide that Pinilla was about to turn it in, but Dani Alves clears. The corner is whipped across goal but no Chilean gets a touch.
90+1 mins: As stoppage time starts Chile work the ball into the box, and Aranguiz steals the ball from the toes of Sánchez, who would surely have skipped into space and delivered a shot, and the chance goes.
87 mins: Sánchez has the ball on the left and looks up, only to see that there is not a single red shirt in or around the penalty area. They're not going to get anywhere like that, either.
86 mins:Chile have the ball for a bit, and then launch it long towards Vidal on the edge of the penalty area and it's headed away. They're not going to get anywhere like that, surely.
84 mins:Brazil seem to be trialling an unusual formation when they have the ball, with the central defenders in defence, the full-backs in central midfield, the attackers up front and everyone else on one flank or the other, leaving a massive hole in the middle of the field. And it seems to be working.
83 mins: Another stunning save! Hulk gets the ball, 25 yards out and rampages into the penalty area before lashing a right-foot shot goalwards, which Bravo pushes clear.
81 mins: Chance for Neymar! It's a very fine chipped pass from Dani Alves, and Neymar reaches it 15 yards out but his header is too central and is saved.
79 mins: Chile keep closing down, keep winning the ball, but aren't really keeping the ball having done so. "If Brazil go out here, the question Big Phil will have to ask himself is - 'Would Fred have finished that?'" writes Prateek Chadha.
77 mins: The game has become a bit scrappy now, as tension and tiredness perhaps overcome the players a bit. "Am I watching the same game?" asks Fraser Thomas. "Compelling? Yes. But there are so many basic errors. And the defending is beyond dire. If this was a Premier League we'd all be screaming."
74 mins: Miss of the day! Hulk has the ball on the left and crosses towards Jô at the far post, but at the very last moment Eugenio Mena flings out a leg. Perhaps Jô thought the defender would get a touch and send the ball behind, but he doesn't. So Jô himself gets a touch and sends the ball behind. Wonderful chance.
Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Oh Jô. Photograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
72 mins: Ramires is going to replace Fernandinho. The tension, which was pretty high before kick-off, is ratcheting up as the clock ticks towards 90 minutes.
With that disallowed goal and Chile having the upper hand in the last few minutes, a Brazilian fan hopes for better luck for her team. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP
69 mins: Chile are controlling this at the moment, as Brazil sulk over Hulk. Alexis Sánchez is the dominant figure – he's everywhere, while Neymar has faded.
The dominant Sanchez. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA Photograph: FELIPE TRUEBA/EPA
68 mins: Chile win the ball, ping a few passes around and Vidal's suddenly streaking into Brazil's penalty area. The ball is stolen from his toes at the last.
64 mins: What a save! Isla pulls the ball back from the touchline to Aranguiz, whose first-time shot was flying in at the near post until Julio Cesar pushed it wide.
62 mins: At the moment I'm thinking back to stories of the 1950 final referee fleeing the stadium after the final whistle, going straight to the docks and never setting foot on Brazilian soil again. Webb's major calls have been right, I think – but they haven't been popular.
61 mins: The free-kick came to nought, but a few moments later on the other side of the pitch, Fernandinh takes out Francisco Silva (but isn't booked. I don't know what he has on Webb but it must be good). "Chile's pressing has been fantastic as usual and while it allows them to score goals like the one Alexis did, it also means that they need to win this in the regulation 90 minutes," writes Prateek Chadha. "If they don't, even though they are an extraordinarily fit side, there is every chance that they will be as drained as Atletico were in the Champions League final."
56 mins: I think that was a mainly good decision. The ball hit Hulk in the upper arm as he controlled it, so the goal shouldn't have stood, but I'm not sure it was flagrant or deliberate enough to deserve a booking. And now a substitution: Eduardo Vargas is off and Felipe Gutierrez is on.
Hulk handles. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
55 mins: Goal disallowed! A long ball from the left finds Hulk in the penalty area, and Hulk controls before shinning it back across goal and in at the back stick. But the assistant referee is flagging! And after a quick chat, Webb disallows the goal and books Hulk for handball.
54 mins: Dani Alves's cross from the right isn't good enough to reach Naymar, and Chile attack down the left but produce a cross that isn't good enough to reach Sánchez.
52 mins: Fred has taken a lot of stick in this competition, but at this rate he'll get some more today. He's just not up to the job of man-up-front-for-hosts-and-favourites.
49 mins: Fernandinho spears a 20-yarder wide. "I don't see how this game is going to end with 22 players," says JR. "At the end of the first half Fred shoved Medel in the head and tried to pretend it was a friendly gesture. Medel wasn't buying it and shoved Fred in the head then Fred acted all tough and Medel had threatening words for him." It's true, they did. Hopefully both have calmed down over half-time.
48 mins: Chile win a free-kick on the right, pump it into the penalty area and Brazil clear. "Why are Chile even bothering with long corners into the box?" wonders Tanay Padhi. "The only player in their lineup hitting six feet is Bravo, and it's a little early for that."
47 mins: Marcelo loses a header to Sánchez on the halfway line, sits up, sees that Chile have the ball, and then lies back down and pretends to be injured.
There's no way these players can keep this up for an hour and a half. The pressing from both teams has been good – Neymar has been a particular nuisance for those Chile defenders, and could have had a goal or two had his left foot been a little better – but surely they're using too much effort.
Neymar and Hulk together, blimey. It's like some brilliant little Premier League academy kid moonlighting up front for a sunday league team
45+3 mins: Chile have two corners, make nothing of either, and still find time to gift the ball to Neymar in their own half once again before Webb blows for half-time. "There's no way England could have kept up with either of these teams, is there?" writes Richard Lindsay. "It's football on another level. So committed, passionate and skilful." Totally gripping stuff. I'm drooling on my keyboard here.
45+1 mins: More suicidal defending, this at the other end. Or good pressing, depending how you look at it. This time Sánchez passes into the penalty area, and Aranguiz's shot is bundled behind.
45 mins: Diaz gives the ball away to Neymar, midway through his own half. Chile are taking some risks here, for little apparent reason. This time Neymar is forced wide, and Fernandinho and Fred compete for the header, and as a result neither heads it very well.
39 mins: Woooaaah! Incredible pass from Oscar, sweeping right to left, finds Neymar, who controls brilliantly and cuts inside. Someone closes him down just in time but then dallies on the ball before clearing straight into the onrushing Fred – it could have gone anywhere, but flies over.
38 mins: I trust that this game is just as tense and exciting if you're not furiously typing. The atmosphere seems incredible, and the game – while far from perfect – isn't letting anyone down.
Scolari on his suspect defence post-Cameroon. “I don’t have a single drop of fear, they are fantastic, they are wonderful."
37 mins: Claudio Bravo, the Chile goalkeeper, comes – all the way to the edge of the penalty area – to claim the corner. He doesn't, and just about gets away with it.
34 mins: It was indeed Hulk, who tried to tap the ball back to Marcelo, who had just thrown it to him, but saw Eduardo Vargas reach it first. His first-time tap inside found Sánchez, and the rest is very recent history.
Either this fan is reacting to Sanchez's equaliser or he's caught sight of his outfit in a mirror. Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP Photograph: Rodrigo Abd/AP
Brazil win a throw-in on the left, five yards from the touchline. Five seconds later the ball is in their net.
Julio Cesar can only watch as Alexis Sánchez's shot goes past him and into the net. Photograph: Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images
Sanchez celebrates his fine finish and getting Chile back in the game. Photograph: Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images
31 mins: Webb's really got to get a grip here. Fernandinho, who could have been booked in the first few minutes, fouls twice more in the space of 20 seconds and remains uncautioned. This game is teetering on the brink of lawlessness.
28 mins: Vidal fouls Neymar on the left touchline. Not a lot of contact in it, really, but Neymar launches himself into the sky to avoid the swinging foot, crashes down to earth and rolls around a lot. Webb's cards remain pocketed.
26 mins: Instead the Brazil armour find a chink in their possession and suddenly they break, and Neymar streaks past Silva – who is incredibly slow and needs to be protected from Neymar at all costs – before shooting wide from the edge of the area.
22 mins: Marcelo fouls Sanchez on the right, but Diaz's free-kick is headed clear. Chile need to do more quicksilver, fleet-footed attacking, and rely less on sending free-kicks into the mixer.
Neymar takes the corner, it's flicked on at the near post by Thiago Silva and David Luíz turns it in at the far with his thigh.
Claudio Bravo can only watch as the ball flies past him and Brazil have the lead. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
David Luiz wheels away in celebration but replays suggest it was Gonzalo Jara who got the final touch to send the ball into the net. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
17 mins: Another free-kick for Brazil, this time from the right flank – Eugenio Mena is booked for conceding it, and would miss a quarter-final – is sent in by Hulk. It's a good, pacey delivery, and the keeper shovels it behind.
16 mins: A Chile pass deflects off a Brazilian knee into their own half of the field, where Francisco Silva – despite being a good five yards closer to it – is overtaken in a race for the ball by Neymar, but enough defenders get back to crowd out the attacker.
13 mins: Penalty claim! Hulk plays a one-two with Neymar, runs into the area and then falls over after Mauricio Isla gives him a little shove. It would have been a weak penalty – and the offence was almost identical to David Luiz's in the other area a few moments earlier – but I've seen 'em given.
13 mins: Neymar gives the ball away when his backheel is intercepted, and the ball is swiftly worked to Sanchez. He's robbed by Marcelo, but gets back well to take the ball back off the Brazilian ont he edge of his area.
11 mins:Chile attack, and Sanchez slides the ball low from the right towards Eduardo Vargas, who tumbles before he can get anywhere near it. Webb is not keen on their penalty appeals.
Brazil's defender David Luiz clears a Chile attack. Photograph: Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images
10 mins: No evidence of the limp in Neymar's last couple of sprints, so the water may have worked. It's been a breathless opening, nobody having any space with which to do anything particularly good.
8 mins: Neymar is back on the pitch but still limping. He fell over when challenged by Aranguiz a few minutes ago, which may have been the cause of his problems.
7 mins: Neymar has limped to the side of the pitch for treatment to his knee, worryingly for Brazil. The physio is applying only water, so it can't be that bad.
6 mins: Dani Alves has the ball stolen off his toes, and though the resulting cross is cleared, Marcelo Diaz volleys the ball back with interest, but it flies a foot wide.
6 mins: Brazil win a corner on the left, Hulk takes and it's cleared to Marcelo, lurking on the edge of the area, who shifts the ball onto his left foot and blasts a shot wide.
4 mins: Talking of Webb and his decisions, Fernandinho clatters Charles Aranguiz after the ball's gone and gets away with it because it's a little too early for yellow cards.
2 mins: Chile pump a free-kick into the penalty area, but it's headed clear. If you want some pictures to go with your words, we've got a match gallery here. Or just turn on a telly, it's up to you.
And here's Billy Bragg on Brazil, which is being lustily belted out by fans, players and some particularly spirited mascots. Many more pop star national anthem reviews here:
Brazil have a wonderfully jaunty national anthem that climbs up and down the scales with the agility of a young Jairzinho. Dating from 1822, its florid lines were never designed to be sung by 80,000 people in a massive stadium, so it is not unusual for the crowd and the music to fall out of sync. The opening line places us beside a stream in the vicinity of São Paulo and the lyrics make passing reference to a death-defying chest and the bosom of freedom. And unlike our own God Save the Queen, it does mention the name of their country, surely the bare minimum requirement of a national anthem.
National anthem time. First, Chile. Followed by a good acapella verse, roundly booed by the home fans.
And this is what Eggsy from Goldie Lookin Chain thinks of it:
This track is an absolute belter, that wouldn’t go amiss as the soundtrack to a good Sunday afternoon war film, which in turn conjures up images of that classic war/football movie Escape to Victory. I know nothing of football but I can hear pride in a rhythm from 50 yards and this tune blew my tits clean off. The Chileans have seen their fair share of political upheaval over the years and if this reflection of national spirit is anything to go by, then they more than deserve to win the World Cup and have a film made about it that’s loosely based around World War Two. Is it possible to get Sylvester Stallone to play in goal for them? Can we get them a dressing room with a giant bath that leads to an escape tunnel? Is there any chance we can get Ossie Ardilles to come on as a ball boy for them? I just don’t know, but at least every time I hear this great piece of music I can picture all this and more in my tiny drug-addled mind. Go Team Chile. My fave new football heroes.
Howard Webb wields the whistle today, as he did when the teams met four years ago. As they've already proved, Chileans will not be shy of screaming conspiracy should he award any debatable decisions for the home side.
Referee Howard Webb walks out for the warm up prior to the 2014 World Cup Brazil match between Brazil and Chile. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Fifa via Getty Images Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Fifa via Getty Images
And here's Reuters' team-sheet analysis. The most notable thing is the absence of Paulinho, who has had a disappointing tournament and has been replaced by Fernandinho:
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari chose midfielder Fernandinho over Paulinho to start against Chile in their World Cup round of 16 game on Saturday with the hope of providing more thrust and fluidity to feed a Neymar-led attack.
Chile, knocked out by Brazil at the same stage in their last two World Cup appearances in 1998 and 2010, were boosted by defender Gary Medel's recovery from injury.
Midfielder Arturo Vidal also starts despite fitness concerns. Alexis Sanchez leads the attack for La Roja at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte. Hulk and Fred add to Brazil's firepower in the hosts' widely-expected lineup.
I've been looking really hard, but I can't for the life of me find a picture of a fan who hasn't made any effort whatsoever.
Fans of Brazil wait for the start of their 2014 World Cup round of 16 game against Chile at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte. Photograph: Sergio Perez/Reuters Photograph: Sergio Perez/Reuters
According to our own Barney Ronay, some people have seen a woman and got a little excited. Apparently "she just pulled her top up to reveal her Chile underwear".
Bizarre spectacle as world's press swarms over woman in (very small) chile shirt. Been a long three weeks, eh, boys? pic.twitter.com/bEr9xhsHJF
But, given that it hasn't, here's a turtle who thinks Brazil are going to win.
A sea turtle predicts a Brazilian win in the round of 16 match against Chile as it is choosing to eat fish on the Brazilian side in a conservation centre for sea turtles in Praia do forte, close to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA
Here are Neymar's boots, his spare boots, his reserve pair of spare boots, and the luminous boots he'll use if there's a power cut and he can't see the three other pairs when he's getting dressed.
The football boots worn by Neymar of Brazil are displayed in the dressing room prior to Brazil's World Cup match against Chile. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Fifa via Getty Images Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Fifa via Getty Images
Arturo Vidal and Gary Medel of Chile celebrate during the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil Group B match between Spain and Chile. Photograph: Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images Photograph: Amin Mohammad Jamali/Getty Images
So, this is exciting. Before anything else, I think a little historical background would be good here. Mainly because it's reasonably interesting.
Chile have only hosted the World Cup once, when they were knocked out in the semi-finals by a Brazil side who, with Pelé injured early in the competition, were inspired by Garrincha, who scored twice (and was sent off). The wonky-legged genius was then controversially not suspended for the final (some bonus detail here), basically because the Brazil FA fixed the disciplinary panel hearing. You can see the match in its entirety, with no commentary or minute-counter-thing or score-showing-wotsit, here (or just watch a few highlights without any sound at all here):
The teams have met twice since in World Cup finals, with Chile starting their match in 1998 excellently only to finish it on the wrong side of a 4-1 shellacking (Ronaldo scored two as well as hitting the post, as well as hitting the bar). They played again four years ago, when Brazil won 3-0 in Johannesburg (the highlights are worth watching just to enjoy the pace on Kaká's pass to set up the second).
As it happens Chile have only played four knock-out ties in their entire World Cup history, and have lost 75% of those matches to Brazil. Will the boys in yellow make it 80% with another win today? Or will Chile gain belated revenge for 1962 by knocking the Brazilians out of their own World Cup? Time alone will tell, and not that much of it, so hold on to your hats.
The other notable Brazil-Chile encounter was the infamous Roberto Rojas firework incident of 1989, when with Chile needing a win to qualify for the 1990 World Cup but 1-0 down with time running out, their goalkeeper used the fact a flare had landed on the pitch not far away to roll around in faux-agony before utilising a razor blade he'd had sewn into his glove to cut his own face and unleash a torrent of convincing claret. Chile walked off the pitch and refused to return, in "fear" for their "safety", and demanded they be awarded a walkover victory; Fifa were not fooled, booted Chile out of both 1990 and 1994 World Cups and banned Rojas and his accomplices from the game for life (more detail here).
Incidentally, while Brazil have won their three World Cup encounters against Chile by an aggregate score of 11-3, this only reflects their massive domination of the teams' all-time, all-competition head-to-head record. Including friendlies Brazil have won 70.6% of their matches and lost only 8.8%, their average match ending with Brazilian victory by an average 2.34 goals to 0.85, the vital statistics reading, from a Brazilian perspective, P68 W48 D13 L6 F159 A58.
