BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Four years after making the mistake that led to Brazil's elimination from the last World Cup, Julio Cesar made the crucial saves that kept his team alive on home soil.
Cesar made two saves in Saturday's penalty shootout victory and watched Chile's last shot from the spot smack the post, helping save Brazil from a humiliating loss in the second round of the World Cup.
The score was 1-1 after extra time, but Brazil ended up winning 3-2 on penalties to reach the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive World Cup. Brazil will play Colombia in the quarterfinals on July 4 in Fortaleza.
Cesar has always admitted that his mistake on a ball crossed into the area in 2010 led to Brazil's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals in South Africa, something which left him devastated.
This time there were only tears of joy after his performance.
"Four years ago I gave a very sad, angry and emotional interview, and today I'm doing this again with happiness," said the goalkeeper, wiping away tears. "Only God and my family know what I went through and still go through today, but I know that my story is not over with the Selecao."
Cesar was visibly emotional even before the penalty shootout, when teammates walked over to hug him and wish him well. His eyes appeared to be watering, and he seemed to have a hard time staying composed.
"My teammates are giving me a lot of strength so I can get on the field and give my best," Cesar said. "There are only three steps left and I still want to be back here to give another interview, with Brazil partying."
Cesar stopped the first two shots by Chile in the shootout, staying near the middle of the goal to block Mauricio's Pinilla's attempt, then diving to his right to deflect Alexis Sanchez's strike.
"I just kept my focus, that's all I had to do," Cesar said.
On the final penalty, Cesar dived to his left and just watched as Gonzalo Jara's shot struck the post and rebounded away.
Fans who had been loudly chanting his name exploded into cheers as the ball finally went wide. Players rushed across the field toward Cesar, who stood there waiting with his arms wide open.
"It was hard, it was with heart, with tears and with saves by Julio Cesar," Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff posted on Twitter. "We won!"
Cesar had already made a crucial save that prevented Chile from taking the lead in the 65th minute. After Charles Aranguiz's close-range shot, Cesar showed his reflexes to push the ball wide with his left hand.
While it was Neymar who took the penalty that gave Brazil a 3-2 lead in the shootout, he knew where most of the praise should go after the narrow victory.
"Cesar deserves all the credit today," the striker said.
COLUMBIA 2, URUGUAY 0
RIO DE JANEIRO -- James Rodriguez scored one of the best goals of the tournament and then added a second to put Colombia into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time with a victory over Uruguay.
Rodriguez gave his team the lead with a stunning long-range volley on the turn in the 28th minute and netted the second from close range shortly after the break as Colombia dominated a Uruguay side that sorely missed banned striker Luis Suarez.
Rodriguez has a tournament-leading five goals in Brazil and further enhanced his status as perhaps the tournament's biggest revelation.
Uruguay struggled badly in attack without Suarez and his replacement Diego Forlan was substituted in the 53rd after a disappointing performance in what was probably his final World Cup appearance.
Rodriguez showed again that the Brazilians have every reason to be wary.
The opener was his most spectacular goal yet. He chested the ball down with his back to goal well outside the area and in one fluid motion turned around and fired a left-foot volley that went off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
His second was a perfectly executed team move as Colombia worked the ball over from the right flank to the left, where Pablo Armero sent in a cross that was met by Juan Cuadrado at the far post. Cuadrado headed back across goal toward Rodriguez, who slotted in from just a few yards (meters) out.
Uruguay Coach Oscar Tabarez tried to respond with a double substitution, taking off Forlan and Alvaro Pereira for Gaston Ramirez and Cristhian Stuani. That livened up the attack, with goalkeeper David Ospina having to make good saves from Cristhian Rodriguez and Maxi Pereira before diving to push away a shot from Edinson Cavani in the 84th.
But in the end Uruguay simply couldn't cope without Suarez, who was banned for four months for biting an opponent in the group-stage victory against Italy that sent the team through to the next round. Suarez also missed Uruguay's first game of the tournament, a 3-1 loss to Costa Rica, before scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory over England.
Forlan was named the best player of the 2010 World Cup but again looked well past his prime and leaves Brazil without scoring a goal.
Rodriguez was taken off near the end to a standing ovation, and then rushed onto the field with his teammates at the final whistle.
Sports on 06/29/2014