Brazil Outclass Fellow South American Chile to 3-0 Win
There weren't any surprises on Monday and Brazil proved it with an effortless 3-0 win over Chile. Chile came into this game with a horrible history against Brazil and the trend continued.
The Brazilians showed why they are ranked at No.1 in the world today as they displayed a good mix of physical presence, power, touch, and creativity to dispose of their fellow South Americans. The men in yellow also proved why they are the tournament favorites.
Chile is now the first South American team to be eliminated from this year's World Cup tournament.
Brazil has not exactly had a walk in the park up to this point. They drew the dreaded 'Group of Death' as they were placed with Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire and North Korea. However, Brazil was the major reason why this group was called such a menacing name.
Real Madrid's Kaka remains the anchor of the Brazilian machine and he showed it today after returning from an undeserved suspension. Though he played great, he earned his third yellow card of the tournament after English referee Howard Webb deemed his tackle on a Chilean player unfit.
Brazil's attack was fuelled by goals from Juan, Luis Fabiano and Robinho.
Juan opened the scoring as Chile failed to defend a corner kick from Maicon. Juan saw his opportunity and headed the ball into the net just below the bar.
Kaka played a vital role in setting up Brazil's second goal. Robinho got Brazil on the move and played an early ball to Kaka. The Real Madrid star then set up Fabiano perfectly with a one-touch pass that sent Fabiano all alone to stroll past the goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and put Brazil in front 2-0 at the half. Brazil had several chances to score and completely outmatched the Chileans and deserved the lead.
Chile's only glimmer of hope in creating any offence was through 21 year-old Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez has made a name for himself this tournament through his creative play and is on the radar of several European clubs, including Manchester United. Sanchez, Udinese's star player, gave Brazil some concerns as he delivered a series of decent touches.
Chile posed no threat to the Brazilians and Brazil could've gone into cruise control for the last 45 minutes of the match. Nevertheless, Brazil tacked on a third goal just before the 60-minute mark.
Robinho shattered any hope that Chile had of coming back when he shot the ball past Bravo from the edge of the box. However, midfielder Ramires deserved all the credit as he made a dazzling run through an overwhelmed Chilean defence.
Kaka did everything short of scoring a goal and narrowly missed a good chance as he charged down from the left past a Chilean defender.
Bravo was able to keep the score respectable with a good performance, but it would've taken a miracle to keep Chile in the game. They were clearly overmatched.
Now Chile goes back home after a respectable showing in the World Cup while the five-time World Champions are just getting started. Brazil will now head into a quarter-final spectacle with the Netherlands in what is a must-see game. Both teams have a strong attack and may display some fireworks in South Africa. Brazil is still the favorite, but this one can go either way. It will be a good measuring stick for the Dutch to see how far they've progressed as a football power when they face their biggest threat yet, Brazil.
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