Match 49: Brazil beat Chile 3—2 on penalties

 Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar (top) celebrates with his teammates after Brazil won their match against Chile in a penalty shoot out

Brazil are through to the quarterfinals and will face the winner of the Colombia—Uruguay match.

Nervous Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday after an epic battle that left Neymar and his teammates in tears.

Two first half-goals and were all the teams managed in a fast-paced and tense 90 minutes and extra time in the Mineirao Stadium.

Gonzalo Jara missed the decisive penalty for Chile, crashing his shot against the post and across the face of the goal, to continue his country's record of World Cup misery against Brazil.

Willian and Hulk both missed from the spot for Brazil. But David Luiz, Marcelo and Neymar all kept their cool to score while Julio Cesar made crucial saves from Mauricio Pinilla and Alexis Sanchez.

Neymar sank to his knees in disbelief afterwards amid widespread tears of joy. Some of the Chilean players hid their weeping under their shirts as they left the field.

Earlier on a hot afternoon in Belo Horizonte, Sanchez pounced on poor Brazlian defending to equalise for Chile in the 32nd minute, cancelling out an 18th-minute opener for the hosts that appeared to be an own-goal by Jara but was awarded by FIFA to David Luiz.

Brazil had the majority of the chances, but were overcome by nerves in the second half and were hugely lucky to survive at the end of extra time when substitute Pinilla lashed a shot against the bar from the edge of the area.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side now look forward to a quarter-final against either Uruguay or Colombia in Fortaleza, while Chile contemplate a last-16 exit at the hands of Brazil, just as they suffered in 1998 and 2010.

As in all of their group games, Brazil started frantically amid a backdrop of deafening noise from the crowd of almost 60,000.

Chile were subjected to the sort of high and energetic pressing game they normally inflict upon others and Marcelo shot narrowly wide before English referee Howard Webb rejected loud appeals for a penalty when Hulk went down in the area after coming together with Mauricio Isla.

Brazil and their fans celebrated in the 18th minute, however. Neymar swung in a corner from the left and Thiago Silva headed the ball on towards the back post, went into the net off Jara who was under pressure from David Luiz.

Chile, who also lost to Brazil in the 1962 semi-finals, faced a huge challenge to come from behind, but Brazil allowed them to control possession and gifted them an equaliser.

Hulk made a careless pass, allowing Eduardo Vargas to pounce and set up Sanchez, who had hardly been involved in the game but came alive to coolly beat Julio Cesar in goal.

Handball denies Hulk

Jorge Sampaoli's side were then forced to weather a storm into half-time that saw a Neymar header deflected past the post and Claudio Bravo tip a powerful 30-yard drive from Daniel Alves over the bar.

Chile looked more comfortable after the restart, even if they had a let-off 10 minutes into the second half when Hulk succeeded in turning the ball into the net with his knee and wheeled away in celebration.

Hulk thought he had redeemed himself for his error in Chile's equaliser, but the referee ruled that he had controlled the ball with his arm and brandished a yellow card to the burly forward.

As nerves took hold, Brazil needed Cesar to come to the rescue with a fine reaction save from an Aranguiz shot, while Neymar, so often the hosts' source of genuine inspiration, faded from the game.

Instead Hulk came to the forefront. He delivered a glorious cross from the left that Jo, on in place of Fred, could not convert and then stung the palms of Bravo after accelerating into the box.

In the first period of extra time, Hulk produced another trademark thunderbolt from 30 yards that was blocked by Bravo.

Chile, meanwhile, seemed happy to take their chances in the lottery of a penalty shoot-out. Pinilla almost won it right at the last, only for the woodwork to rescue Brazil, as it did again from Jara's crucial penalty.

Brazil's goalkeeper Julio Cesar (R) dives the right way but Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara's penalty kick clatters off the post during the penalty shootout 

The shoot—out against Chile went as following, with Brazil starting:

1—0 David Luiz beats Claudio Bravo into the left corner [Goal]

1—0 Mauricio Pinilla aims straight at Julio Cesar

1—0 Substitute Willian sends Bravo into wrong corner but aims wide left

1—0 Alexis Sanchez aims low left but Cesar dives to stop the ball for his second save

2—0 Marcelo aims mid—high left to beat Bravo [Goal]

2—1 Charles Aranguiz smashes the ball into the roof of the net to revive Chile’s hopes [Goal]

2—1 Hulk aims right at Bravo

2—2 Marcelo Diaz sends Cesar diving to his left and scores into the middle of the goal to level matters after four penalties each [Goal]

3—2 Neymar keeps his cool and beats Bravo into the low left corner [Goal]

3—2 Gonzalo Jara is denied by the right post which gives Brazil victory.

Match 34: Flying Dutchmen finish on top

Leroy Fer scored a minute after coming on as a substitute to break the deadlock and help give the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Chile on Monday to top Group B at the World Cup with three consecutive wins.

Fer had only just replaced Wesley Sneijder when he rose almost unmarked in the Chile penalty area to put the Dutch ahead with a powerful 77th-minute header. Another substitute, Memphis Depay, then tapped in a cross from Arjen Robben in injury time to double the lead.

Both teams had already advanced to the second round, but Chile’s first loss of the tournament consigned it to second place in Group B.

The Dutch now travel to Fortaleza to play the Group A runner-up in the round of 16. Chile faces the Group A winner in Belo Horizonte.

Group A leader Brazil was playing already-eliminated Cameroon later Monday and Mexico faced Croatia in the other match.

Chile began with its trademark fast, attacking style while the Dutch, with a five-man defense, looked content to sit back, absorb the pressure and hope to break out with swift counterattacks.

The strategy paid off handsomely.

“We gave nothing away and fought like lions,” stand-in captain Robben said. “Orange lions.”

The match marked the first time at this World Cup the Netherlands had played in its national color, but the change of jerseys didn’t change its fortunes.

Perhaps with an eye on the round of 16, Chile left midfielder Arturo Vidal on the bench. The Juventus star underwent knee surgery last month but started Chile’s first two matches in Brazil and said before the match he was fit to play.

His absence deprived Chile of midfield creativity and it struggled to break down the well-drilled Dutch defense.

Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez tried to fill the gap left by Vidal, but couldn’t find a way through. He came closest to scoring in the second half with a powerful shot that Jasper Cillessen easily blocked at his near post.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Robben said. “If you see how we fought here today. We were right on top of them and gave them no chances.”

The Netherlands was playing without suspended captain and striker Robin van Persie and was also missing defender Bruno Martins Indi, who suffered a concussion in the team’s last match, a tough 3-2 victory over Australia in Porto Alegre.

No problem for inspirational coach Louis van Gaal, who pulled a tactical surprise with his starting lineup - reverting to the 5-3-2 formation he began with against Spain and posting veteran forward Dirk Kuyt at left back.

Then came his substitutions.

Fer headed in powerfully and Depay doubled his World Cup tally in stoppage time. Robben delayed his cross from the left cleverly until the PSV Eindhoven striker arrived at the far post to tap in an inch-perfect pass.

“He is a huge talent and great for the future of Dutch football,” Fer said of Depay.

Match 19: Chile send Spain packing from World Cup

The Iberian country also earned the dubious distinction of making the earliest exit from a World Cup by a defending champion in history.

Spain made a shock early exit from the World Cup after a disappointing 0-2 loss against Chile to become only the fourth defending champions to crash out of the tournament at the first stage here today.

Spain needed either a win or at least a draw to remain afloat in the tournament but failed to do so. They now join Brazil (1966), France (2002) and Italy (2010) in the dubious club of defending champions bowing out of the World Cup in the first round.

They now join Australia, who lost to the Netherlands 2-3 in an earlier Group B match of the day, as the first teams to bow out of the tournament.

The Iberian country also earned the dubious distinction of making the earliest exit from a World Cup by a defending champion in history. No defending champions have ever been eliminated after only two games of the first phase.

Eduardo Vargas put Chile in the lead in the 20th minute before Charles Aranguiz made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute to send Spain packing in front of the packed crowd at the iconic Maracana Stadium. Chile thus avenged their 1-2 loss to the same opponents in their group match in the 2010 World Cup.

In the last World Cup, Spain did lose their opening match but eventually bounced back to go on winning the title. But this time, it was not destined to be like that and their 1-5 humiliation by the Netherlands, their worst defeat since the 1-6 loss to Brazil in 1950 World Cup, was followed by defeat at the hands of Chile today.

It turned out to be the worst night for Spain as they did not have any answer to the aggressive and attacking football of Chile in the initial 45 minutes and then played a chasing game in the second half to be outclassed by their opponents in the end.

The talk of the end of an era was imminent as Spain, the exponents of the famous ‘tika, taka’ style of football and two time European Championship winners (2008 and 2012) besides the 2010 World Cup crown, exited from Brazil 2014 without any impact and scoring just one goal in two games.

By virtue of the win, Chile made it to the round of 16 along with the Netherlands. Spain’s final group match against Australia on June 23 at Curitiba has now been rendered inconsequential.

The winner of the group will now be decided after the match between Chile and the Netherlands on June 23 in Sao Paulo.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque dropped regulars Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique in favour of Pedro Rodriguez and Javi Martinez after his side’s humiliating 1—5 loss against the Netherlands but there was no change in their fortunes.

They had their chances but failed to utilise them.

Chile were lucky not to have conceded a goal in the 15th minute with Xavi Alonso smashing the ball onto goalkeeper Claudio Bravo after a scramble inside the box.

The South Americans drew the first blood with a 20th minute strike. Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso made a poor pass straight to the feet of Chile striker Alexis Sanchez, who burst forward and exchanged a brilliant one—two with Arturo Vidal.

Sanchez then found out Charles Aranguiz, who showed superb composure to gave the pass to Eduardo Vargas at the back post, who shot past Spain keeper Iker Casillas, who made a Spanish record 17th appearance in a World Cup finals match today.

Charles Aranguiz then doubled the lead from a rebound after the ball landed at his feet when Casillas punched out a free kick from Alexis Sanchez in the 43rd.

Spain’s best chance came in the 53rd minute but Sergio Busquets, free at the back post after the ball landed on his feet, could not guide it to the open goal with his left foot.

Second half substitute Santi Cazorla’s powerful strike in the 80th minute after an Andes Iniesta spadework was tipped past the post by Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

Chile goalkeeper Bravo was at his best again in the 84th minute as he pulled off a brilliant reflex save to stop an Andres Iniesta shot in the 84th minute.

Match 4: Chile too hot for Australia; win 3-1

Chile's forward Alexis Sanchez (not in picture) scores past Australia's goalkeeper Mathew Ryan (centre) during the FIFA Group B match in Cuiaba

Chile had to work harder than expected to defeat World Cup underdogs Australia 3-1 in Cuiaba on Friday.

The result nevertheless boosted their chances of progressing in the tournament following the Netherlands’ 5-1 demolition of reigning champions Spain in Group B’s earlier match.

Chile, with their all-attacking style, have been singled out as a real threat by Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, while the Socceroos are the team with the lowest FIFA ranking in the tournament.

And yet, despite also having most of the fans on their side in the Arena Pantanal stadium, the South Americans struggled to overcome a well organized team that grew in confidence after the break.

Few would have expected such a balanced match after the first quarter of an hour.

Chile started strong and netted their first goal in the 12th minute, with Alexis Sanchez collecting a loose ball in the area and firing home La Roja’s first from short range.

With the Socceroos still reeling from the first goal, the Barcelona forward then picked Jorge Valdivia, who was left completely unmarked outside the area, and curled the ball in from a central position for Chile’s second.

There was woeful defending from Australia. And yet, the underdogs pulled one back out of nowhere in the 35th, with Tim Cahill heading in a goal from the centre of the area. That goal means Cahill is now one of the few players to have scored in three World Cups.

The second half was a fast-paced affair, with Australia threatening their rivals on several occasions.

It got worse for Chile in the 60th, when star midfielder Arturo Vidal, who had been in doubt until the 11th hour, had to be replaced by Felipe Gutierrez.

Still, Chile could have scored a third soon after, but Alex Wilkinson cleared the ball as it was crossing the goal line following an Eduardo Vargas finish.

It was the first time in the tournament that FIFA’s latest innovation -- the goal-line technology -- was used to confirm the referee’s decision.

Despite the scare, Australia grew in confidence, meaning much of the rest of the second half was a balanced affair.

However, it was left to Jean Beausejour to seal the match in Chile’s favour in the 90th minute.

While the result was clearly in Chile’s favour, the South Americans will have to improve in discipline, particularly in defence, if they want to clinch a result against Spain and the Netherlands.