Brazil defeats Chile 3-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals

Brazil defeated Chile 3-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals after the two teams were tied at one goal apiece at the end of extra time.

Brazil and Chile played one of the most thrilling games of the tournament up to this point as 120 minutes were not enough to determine a winner. Brazil looked like the tournament favorites in the opening 40 minutes of the game with their star player Neymar making several dazzling runs and putting pressure on the Chilean defense.

Brazil was able to strike first in the 18th minute when David Luiz was credited for a goal that was tapped in off a corner kick. On second look, it appeared a Chilean defender may have put the ball in the net himself, but Brazil did not care either way, as they were off to the ideal start.

Brazil continued to look impressive in the opening half but disaster struck for the home side in the 32ndminute. Brazilian striker, Hulk, made a careless pass too close to his own goal that was picked off by an opportunistic Eduardo Vargas who then set up Alexis Sanchez for the equalizer. Sanchez struck the ball along the ground and beat Júlio César far post and let Brazil know they would be in for a fight.

Brazil came out flat in the second half, and did not look like the energized and aggressive team we had seen in the opening 45 minutes. What chances Brazil were able to create were stopped by Chilean keeper, Claudio Bravo, who would have been Man of the Match had Chile gone on to win the game.

For the final 20 minutes of regulation, and indeed the full 30 minutes of extra time, it looked like Chile was playing for a draw and hoping to steal the game in a penalty shootout. Chile got what they wanted, as Brazil was unable to score the game winner from play, despite several good efforts from Hulk, who no doubt wanted to make up for his part in Chile’s goal in the first half.

You could feel the anxiety of the predominately Brazilian crowd at Estadio Mineirão through the television as both teams readied themselves for the penalty shootout. A shootout consists of each team selecting five players to have a one-on-one shot with the opposing goalie, each team alternates turns.

Brazilian keeper Júlio César handled the weight of his country on his shoulders, as the Internazionale man saved Chile’s first two attempts. With both teams making two of their first four shots, Neymar stutter stepped, then beat Bravo to put Brazil up 3-2 with one Chilean player left to shoot with the opportunity to force a sudden death shootout. It was not to be for Chile, as Gonzalo Jara's hit the post and rolled harmlessly away. Brazil had escaped and will now move on to the quarterfinals to play Colombia, who defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the second match of the day. Chile goes home after the round of 16 for the second straight World Cup, as they lost to Brazil 3-0 ion 2010. The New York Times ,also provides a summary of the thrilling game.

Brazil will need to show vast improvements if they are to continue to advance in this tournament, as several teams such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Colombia have all looked more impressive than them thus far.

To keep up with who will play who in the following rounds,CBSsports,has made it easy to keep track of the knockout stages.

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