The knockout rounds came around quickly, didn’t they?! Much like our Group stage previews a few weeks ago, we’re now going to be doing the same thing for the Last 16. Read on to see our thoughts on Brazil’s upcoming clash with Chile! Check out our thoughts on the other knockout fixture taking place today here!
Brazil:
How they’ve done so far:
Brazil 3 – 1 Croatia, Brazil 0 – 0 Mexico, Brazil 4 – 1 Cameroon.
What they’ve done well so far:
The above scores don’t really do Brazil justice; even the 0-0, as Brazil were by far the better team on that occasion and just couldn’t beat Ochoa in the Mexico goal. One could argue that they’ve taken their chances well when they’ve created them. Or to be specific, Neymar has taken his chances well when they’ve been presented to him. They’ve done what they’ve needed to do so far, no more, no less.
Where they’ve struggled so far:
They’ve not had very good rhythm offensively; Neymar and Paulinho have been the only really consistent performers offensively – the rest of the offensive players have shown brief flashes of what they can do but no more than that really. Defensively they’ve been nothing like most were expecting. Dani Alves has been very off-colour defensively in the tournament and even the pairing of Thiago Silva and David Luiz has looked susceptible to pressure at times at the back – check out Cameroon’s goal in the last group game for evidence of that. You’d like to think defensive issues should sort themselves out quickly though, and while the offensive play hasn’t been the prettiest at times, they have scored seven goals; perhaps we’re all just expecting too much from them?
Key Player:
Four goals in three games, Brazil’s poster boy Neymar will be absolutely crucial to Brazil’s ambitions in the business end of the tournament. He’ll definitely struggle to find space against a very well organised Chilean side but the boy only needs one chance. If he gets one, expect him to take it!
Will they progress?:
Well, they can! But they’re going to have to show a kind of rhythm and solidity that they haven’t shown so far against this Chile side if they want to beat them. Unlike the group stages, Neymar probably isn’t going to be able to take Chile down on his own – Fred, Hulk, Oscar and co. all need to step up to the plate and that’s before you get started on the work the guys at the back are going to have to do to keep Sanchez, Vidal and Vargas at bay. It’ll be tough, but the hosts are definitely capable!
Chile:
How have they done so far?:
Chile 3 – 1 Australia, Chile 2 – 0 Spain, Chile 0 – 2 Holland.
What they’ve done well so far:
If there’s a team in this tournament so far that has shown how to play as a team and not a bunch of individuals then it is Chile. Jorge Sampaoli has instilled a sense of unity in this team that is an absolute joy to watch; playing for each other, pressing as a unit, maintaining shape and composure exceptionally well, they’ve done so well so far.
Where they’ve struggled so far:
They struggle with aerial balls aimed at the defence, whether that’s from corners or just general high balls, they don’t cope exceptionally well with them. Take the Australia game for example, Cahill isn’t the tallest of guys but he has a great leap on him and got the goal with a header. Chile held out to win the game but the point was that they were weak in dealing with high aerial balls. They struggled with the same thing against Holland as Leroy Fer buried a header with his first touch of the game. Expect Brazil to use the likes of Fred to try and target that weakness.
Key Player:
Everyone knew Alexis Sanchez was a great player before this tournament, if a tad erratic and prone to making the wrong decision at times. It seems though that he left those weaknesses at Barcelona as he’s been pretty much untouchable so far this tournament. He runs like a lunatic for his team, acting as a pivot point for the offence to work their play around – a solid team unit based around the Barcelona winger’s talents if he maintains the form he’s shown so far is dangerous to anyone.
Will they progress?:
On current form, I think most would be expecting Chile to advance from this fixture. It all depends on Brazil though. We haven’t seen the hosts at their best yet and that’s an issue for Chile because how do you prepare for facing a side whose full potential has not yet been seen? If Brazil are on it in this fixture, it’s going to be a classic. If they aren’t it’ll still be a pretty good game but I fear the hosts could just drop out at this stage.