Sports

BELO HORIZONTE –– Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved two spot-kicks in a shoot-out against Chile to send the hosts into the World Cup quarter-finals 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time on Saturday.

Four years to the day since Brazil eliminated Chile at the same stage of the 2010 tournament, they did it again when Gonzalo Jara sent his spot-kick against the post after Cesar had twice denied the battling Chileans.

Five-time champions Brazil will next play the winners of the other last-16 match later on Saturday between Uruguay and Colombia.

David Luiz put Brazil ahead after 18 minutes but Alexis Sanchez equalised for Chile before halftime.

The Brazilians, who had eliminated their fellow South Americans in three previous World Cups, set a blistering pace from the start and Marcelo took a first crack at Chile with a volley that sailed wide.

Chile quickly lost the battle in midfield but their defence kept tournament joint top scorer Neymar constantly in check.

They were helpless, though, when Neymar whipped in a corner in the 18th minute, Thiago Silva headed it on and David Luiz, with what looked like some help from Chile’s Jara, flicked it in for his first international goal in his 40th appearance.

With the small red patches of Chile fans in the Mineirao Stadium swallowed up by a vast sea of yellow shirts, Brazil kept pouring forward and Neymar should have done better when he raced clear only to drive a low shot wide.

Chile, however, levelled 14 minutes later, after making the most of a throw-in mixup between Hulk and Marcelo, to send Alexis into the box and the forward drilling in to stun the crowd into temporary silence.

Neymar, deciding to take matters into his own hands, went agonisingly close with a header that scraped past the post and controlled a superb deep cross-field ball to set up Fred, who fired high.

Dani Alves tested Claudio Bravo with a thundering long-range effort but the Chile keeper did well to tip it over the bar.

Brazil, who had won nine of their previous 10 meetings with Chile, thought they had scored again early in the second half when Hulk controlled a deep cross to drill in but referee Howard Webb booked the winger for handball.

At the other end Cesar pulled off a sensational save to deny Charles Aranguiz from point-blank range in a pulsating game where players of both teams resembled tightrope walkers with no safety with one wrong pass proving costly.

Chile, running on empty in extra time, almost snatched a dramatic last-minute winner when Mauricio Pinilla rattled the crossbar with a tremendous shot.

But keeper Cesar saved spot-kicks by Pinilla and Alexis before Jara failed to convert and the stadium erupted in celebration.

TERESOPOLIS, Brazil — The knockout stage of the World Cup begins Saturday with host Brazil playing Chile, the South American rival it has dominated over the years.

Brazil hasn’t lost to Chile in more than a decade, and has never lost to it on home soil. But for the first time Chile arrives to face its neighbour with plenty of confidence, thanks in part to a convincing campaign in Group B that included a victory over defending champion Spain.

The Chileans say there is no reason they can’t also surprise the hosts, and Brazilians admit they are wary of the threat.

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari warned about Chile more than six months ago, following the World Cup draw. Despite the possibility of the hosts facing Spain or the Netherlands, the team’s nemesis in the quarter-finals of the 2010 tournament, Scolari said at the time that his biggest concern was the Chilean squad, which he hoped “wouldn’t qualify” for the second round.

“When I talked about Chile then, people made fun of me, they said Chile wasn’t good enough,” Scolari said. “But I already knew the work of coach [Jorge] Sampaoli and their players. We already knew how they played.”

Brazil hasn’t lost to Chile since a World Cup qualifier in 2000. Since then, it has won 10 of their 12 matches. They met three times in World Cups, with Brazil winning 4-2 in the semifinals of the 1962 tournament in Chile, then 4-1 in the last 16 in 1998 and 3-0 at the same stage in 2010.

“We can’t take that into consideration,” Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo said. “A lot of people say that we don’t have anything to lose, but on the contrary, we have a historic opportunity to eliminate the hosts. It’s our longtime rival, one with a lot of titles. It’s up to us to do it.”

Brazil and Chile played twice in friendlies last year. Scolari’s team won 2-1 in November in Canada, and the teams drew 2-2 in April at the same Mineirao Stadium where Saturday’s match will be played.

The Chilean squad has four players who know Brazilian football well — Eduardo Vargas played for Brazilian club Gremio until last year, while Jorge Valdivia is with Palmeiras, Charles Aranguiz with Internacional and Eugenio Mena with Santos.

“They have players with a lot of quality. It’s always difficult to play a team like that,” Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo said. “We don’t think about what happened in the past. We have to think about what’s in front of us now. Now it’s a different story, with new players. Anything is possible.”

Brazil has made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup every time since 1994. Its last elimination in the second round was against Argentina in 1990. Chile has only once advanced past the second round, at home in 1962.

“Now we can’t make any more mistakes,” Scolari said. “In the group stage we could still slip here and there and still advance. Now we can’t. We have to have a very balanced team, we can’t make any mistakes, that’s what has to change beginning with this next game.”

Brazil has four players going into Saturday’s match with a yellow card, including striker Neymar, captain Thiago Silva and defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo. Another yellow against Chile will sideline them from the quarter-finals if Brazil advances.

BRASILIA –– Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the tournament but missed a glut of other chances as Portugal’s 2-1 win over incident-hit Ghana on Thursday was not enough to make the second round as both sides exited the World Cup.

Portugal finished level on four points with the United States in Group G but the Americans advanced to the last 16 courtesy of a better goal difference despite their 1-0 loss to group winners Germany in Recife.

“We are very disappointed. We have to go home and come back stronger,” Ghana’s goalscorer Asamoah Gyan said after they finished bottom of the group with one point.

Ghana defender John Boye’s first-half own goal summed up a match that disappointed for long spells between two teams who needed victories — Portugal by a large margin — in the Brazilian capital to have any chance of advancing.

The defender swiped at a 31st minute cross from Portuguese fullback Miguel Veloso which hit his knee and then the crossbar before nestling in the back of the net.

The goal came after a Ghana break ended when Bahrain official Nawaf Shukralla accidentally blocked an attempted pass, handing possession to the Portuguese who went up field and scored.

The Ghanaians improved after the break and striker Gyan headed them level at the back post after a brilliant cross with the outside of his foot by Kwadwo Asamoah in the 57th minute.

Gyan then turned provider, putting in another ball from the left for an unmarked Abdul Majeed Waris moments later but the striker could only steer his header wide from six yards out.

The wasted effort proved costly as Portugal skipper and World Player-of-the-Year Ronaldo smashed his side ahead in the 80th minute after Ghana goalkeeper Fatawu Dauda flapped at a high ball, sending it straight to the Real Madrid forward.

Ronaldo should have had another minutes later but Dauda was on hand to parry the forward’s side footed effort from close range, with the keeper also blocking an effort from the skipper in the dying stages as the game finally burst into life.

“It was a very exciting match with many chances on both sides,” Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah said. “Unfortunately we didn’t take ours and they took theirs.”

The World Cup exit completed a miserable two days for the Africans who were embroiled in a pay row and kicked out midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari for ill-discipline hours before Thursday’s kick-off.

Brazil  –– Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was banned for nine matches by FIFA on Thursday after being found guilty of biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Suarez was also suspended from any football-related activity for four months and fined 100,000 Swiss francs (65,255.81 pounds).

“Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field," Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, said in a statement.

"The Disciplinary Committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez’s guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code. The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated.”

The incident occurred 10 minutes before the end of Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy in their final Group D match in Natal on Tuesday.

Suarez will miss Uruguay's last-16 match against Colombia in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday and will play no further part in the tournament if they progress.

The 27-year-old, voted England's Footballer of the Year after scoring 31 Premier League goals for Liverpool last season, has now been involved in three incidents of biting opponents, the other two during league matches in the Netherlands and England.

Suarez was also banned for one match at the last World Cup in South Africa for a deliberate handball that cost Ghana a match-winning goal in a quarter-final.

CURITIBA, Brazil — Thirty two years on from one of the most controversial moments in World Cup history, Algeria finally has a real opportunity to reach the second round of the World Cup for the first time.

When it meets Russia on Thursday in Group H in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, Algeria knows that a second straight win will mean a place in the last 16. A draw would probably be enough too — unless South Korea secures a big win over Belgium, which has already qualified.

After a late 1-0 defeat to Belgium in its second game, Russia can only hope to progress with a win. Should South Korea beat Belgium, it would then go down to goal difference between the Russians and South Koreans.

Following the disappointment of losing its opening game to Belgium 2-1, despite being ahead for much of the match, Algeria is now back in contention after a convincing 4-2 victory over South Korea. It was Algeria’s first win in the World Cup since 1982.

The performance showed the team’s attacking intent with three of the changes from the first game introduced by coach Vahid Halilhodzic getting on the score sheet. Algeria has shown itself to be well-organised and technically assured, with midfielder Sofiane Feghouli directing much of the team’s play.

Qualification could also help erase the bitter memory of 1982 when Algeria failed to progress to the second stage after West Germany and Austria played out a result that suited them both. The two teams, meeting a day after Algeria had won its last group game, knew that a 1-0 win for West Germany would put both through to the second round at Algeria’s expense.

After West Germany took an early lead, the game drifted at walking pace and ended with the score unchanged. The embarrassing display prompted FIFA to introduce simultaneous kickoffs for the final group games.

Russia, playing in its first World Cup since 2002, still has a reasonable chance of advancing.

Fabio Capello’s squad of entirely Russian-based players has showed glimpses of potential and pressured Belgium for long stretches but lacked quality finishing during a 1-0 defeat. The team was also unlucky in its opening 1-1 draw with South Korea, conceding a soft goal when experienced keeper Igor Akinfeev let the ball slip through his hands.

There’s no chance of Capello underestimating Algeria after his experience as coach of England at the 2010 World Cup. For many in England, the 0-0 draw against Algeria in a group game stands out as the most toothless display in a lackluster campaign, even more so than the 4-1 demolition by Germany in the second round.

“We have no other option than to go out and beat Algeria,” Capello said, playing down any comparisons between the two games.

If it fails to qualify for the next round, Russia knows it will be playing in the World Cup in 2018 through its status as host.

“After not playing in the World Cup in 12 years, this tournament does a great service to us,” said Capello, who has already earned a contract extension through to 2018. “It helps us understand the level at which we need to compete.”

PORTO SEGURO, Brazil — There won’t be friendly phone calls, there won’t be any dirty deals. That’s the promise from both sides ahead of Germany’s final Group G match against the United States.

A draw on Thursday in Recife would see both teams advance to the knockout stage at the expense of Portugal and Ghana, who play at the same time in Brasilia.

Both sides have been answering questions about a possible conspiracy, or as the Germans call it, a “non-aggression pact”, and both have sharply rejected any suggestions of a deal.

No wonder the questions are being asked, since the Germans were jointly responsible for one of the more shameful episodes in World Cup history. Germany scored after 10 minutes against Austria at the 1982 World Cup in Gijon, Spain, and the two teams just knocked the ball around for the next 80 minutes since the outcome guaranteed a slot in the next round for both. It also eliminated Algeria, which had stunned Germany 2-1 in their opener.

After that match, FIFA made sure that final group matches are played simultaneously, to reduce the possibility of a “gentlemen’s agreement”.

Germany and the United States are linked in many ways. Five players on the US team have American fathers and German mothers, with four of them playing in the Bundesliga.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann was a star of the Germany team that won the last of its three World Cup titles in 1990. He also scored when the two teams last met in the group sage of a World Cup, a 2-0 victory for Germany at the 1998 tournament in France.

In 2006 at home, Klinsmann guided Germany to a third-place finish as coach, with assistant Joachim Loew, who is now Germany’s coach. Berti Vogts, one of Klinsmann’s staff, was the coach of Germany when it won its last title, the 1996 European Championship.

Loew and Klinsmann remain good friends, but Loew has said he would not be talking to Klinsmann during the tournament.

Klinsmann too has dismissed any collusion.

“I don’t think that we are made for draws, really, except if it happens like tonight — two late goals, last seconds,” Klinsmann said after his team’s 2-2 draw with Portugal, which scored deep into stoppage time. “I think both teams go into this game and they want to win the group.”

“You’re talking about a game [in Gijon] that is decades away that is only part of the Germany history and not the United States,” Klinsmann said. “The United States is known to give everything they have in every single game. ... We have that fighting spirit. We have that energy and that determination to do well in every single game.”

The German camp was equally indignant about any suggestions of a fix.

“It would be highly unsportsmanlike and unfair to other teams if anyone on the pitch had such thoughts,” defender Mats Hummels said.

Assistant coach Hansi Flick said Germany “wanted to win the match and finish first in the group”.

Germany and the United States both have four points, while Ghana and Portugal have one each. Both Germany and the US could even afford to lose and still advance, depending on the outcome of the other match. Germany has an edge because of its superior goal difference (+4) over the Americans (+1).

Hummels said he was surprised by the quality of the US team’s play at the World Cup.

“They are playing a very good tournament. I did not expect them to be so strong. They beat us last year 4-3 [in a friendly] and clearly they are a good team,” Hummels said.

SAO PAULO — Without star midfielder Arturo Vidal, Chile looked nothing like the powerhouse that knocked defending champion Spain out of the World Cup.

One of the most attacking and attractive teams at the tournament thus far, Chile started out with its trademark style but faded quickly as the Dutch established their dominance and earned a 2-0 victory Monday.

Vidal, the Juventus standout, underwent knee surgery last month and hurt his right Achilles tendon while in Brazil. He had started the team’s first two games, both impressive wins over Australia and Spain, and insisted he was fit to play again.

But with Chile having already qualified for the next round, coach Jorge Sampaoli chose to keep his best player on the bench.

Without him, Chile mustered only seven shots in the game — a single one on target — and gave little support to Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez, who often looked like he was struggling alone out on the pitch. A hopeless long range-shot by Sanchez in the 56th minute that sailed high only highlighted his frustrations.

Sampaoli did not address the decision in his post-game comments.

“We had the idea of winning. That is why we invested our all, the best we have for this game and we couldn’t find the solution to a team that only defended itself and only aspired to have long strikes,” he said. “Our intention was to bring down the hard wall of the Dutch defence.”

Stand-in Dutch defender Dirk Kuyt said the Dutch strategy was successful.

“Chile wanted to attack us and they didn’t create many chances,” he said.

With the loss, Chile finished second in Group B and will now play the winner of Group A — likely host Brazil.

Chile has a long, painful history with its fellow South American nation.

Four years ago it was eliminated by Brazil in the round of 16. On the last two occasions when Chile reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup, in 1998 and 2002, they were also eliminated by Brazil.

“We will play against whoever comes,” Sampaoli said. “It can be Brazil, Mexico, Croatia; whoever comes it will be very intense.”

Regardless of the opponent, Vidal said there was no way he was going to miss the next game.

“You suffer more on the bench than on the pitch,” he said. “The first two matches were very though, and the knee was pleading for a little respite. That’s what the coach considered, and besides I had the yellow card. This rest will help me a lot.”

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil heads into the knockout stage of the World Cup with added confidence after finally coming up with a convincing win at its home tournament.

The hosts played well in a 4-1 win over Cameroon on Monday to secure a spot in the round of 16 and regain the trust of fans after two mediocre games.

Players said that more important than the victory was the team’s performance, which showed that Brazil remains on track to contend for the World Cup title.

After winning Group A with two wins and a draw, Brazil will play South American rival Chile on Saturday in Belo Horizonte.

“We knew we could do better,” Brazil striker Hulk said. “We finally played the football that we are used to playing.”

Brazil struggled in the opening match against Croatia, going down a goal before rallying to a 3-1 victory thanks in part to a controversial penalty in the second half. Brazil then was held to a 0-0 draw by Mexico, which had several good chances to score throughout the match.

“We finally got to play with the spirit that we were used seeing in our national team,” Brazil striker Fred said. “We pressured our opponent the way we wanted from the beginning. In the last two matches we had tried but it didn’t work. In the first match we were OK, then we did better in the second and now we improved even more.”

Fred was one of the most relieved players after the team’s good performance in the nation’s capital, scoring his first goal of the tournament to finally ease some of the criticism from fans and local media.

“It wasn’t bothering me that I wasn’t scoring, but that the team wasn’t playing so well,” Fred said. “The entire team improved.”

Neymar scored twice in the first half and Fernandinho closed the scoring near the end in front of nearly 70,000 fans at the Estadio Nacional. Cameroon had equalised after Neymar’s first goal.

Fans’ expectations were high after Brazil was outstanding at the Confederations Cup warm-up tournament last year. The team coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari also thrived in friendlies ahead of the World Cup, winning 15 of the 16 matches it played before the competition.

After the slow start at the World Cup, local media had been criticising the team’s performances and questioning whether the five-time champions would be able to remain in contention for the much-coveted title at home.

The victory against Cameroon allowed Brazil to finish first in the group to avoid the Netherlands, which knocked it out in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The hosts instead will play Chile, the South American rival that it has beaten all three times it played in World Cups, including 4-1 in the second round of the tournament in South Africa.

“We are almost at the level we think we need to be for the knockout stage,” Scolari said. “We began the group stage at an inferior level compared to how we played in the Confederations Cup. But we are becoming better day after day.”

RIO DE JANEIRO — A monitoring group is urging FIFA to investigate instances of alleged discrimination by supporters of three European countries at World Cup matches. Fare executive director Piara Powar says its report to FIFA identifies Germany, France and Belgium fans who have worn black face make-up during matches. Images of at least two Germany fans appeared on social media with blackened faces at the team's match against Ghana. Fare says in a message posted on its Twitter account that it also advised FIFA about a pitch invader in that match "with neo-Nazi references painted on his body". In a separate incident involving a Colombia fan, Fare reports "a man wearing a clerical costume daubed with swastikas". FIFA can open disciplinary cases against national federations, which are responsible for fan behaviour inside stadiums.

NATAL, Brazil –– Italy must find a way to shut down Uruguay striker Luis Suarez when the teams clash at the Dunas arena on Tuesday in a World Cup showdown which will decide who goes through to the last 16.

Uruguay, semifinalists four years ago, will arrive in Natal on an almighty high after Suarez’s double strike beat England and eased the pain of their opening 3-1 loss to Costa Rica — a match their totemic striker missed as he recovered his fitness.

Italy also lost to Costa Rica by 1-0 but their opening victory over England means the four-times World Cup winners need a point from the fixture, while twice champions Uruguay must win because of their inferior goal difference.

If there was any team you would back to shackle a goalscoring phenomenon, it would probably be Italy but they will need to be at their miserly best at the back to deny Suarez and his strike partner Edinson Cavani.

“They are a very strong combination in attack,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told reporters on Sunday.

“This is not something we’re discovering now. They’ve established their reputation as a duo for Uruguay and on their own for their clubs.”

Italy’s coach Cesare Prandelli will almost certainly have to change his team with defensive midfielder Daniele De Rossi highly unlikely to play because of a leg injury.

Praised for his positive 4-1-4-1 system after the victory over England, and then pilloried for the same tactics after the Costa Rica defeat, Prandelli might switch to a 3-5-2 formation for the Uruguay clash.

Mario Balotelli would retain his place up front with the in-form Ciro Immobile joining him in a gamble on an untested strike partnership.

“It would be a novelty, with all the benefits and risks that are associated with that,” said Buffon.

“If this choice is made, what happens on the field will tell us if it was the right decision.”

With Suarez already confirmed as fit to play by the Uruguay team doctor despite pre-tournament knee surgery, and captain Diego Lugano still an injury doubt, coach Oscar Tabarez could stick with the same lineup that beat England.

He will be looking for another energetic performance from midfielders Alvaro Gonzalez and Nicolas Lodeiro, who he brought into the side after the lacklustre display against Costa Rica.

Italy and Uruguay played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the Confederations Cup in Brazil last year with the Italians claiming a third-place play-off win by 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out.

Buffon, who saved three penalties in that shoot-out, believes how well Italy recover from their disappointing defeat by the Costa Ricans will go a long way to deciding whether the Azzurri progress.

“When you come from a defeat like that,” the 36-year-old said. “You’ve got to find the energy over the next few days to put things right.”

“When we’re facing a challenge, that’s when we respond best.”