World Cup daily briefing: June 28

Of the two all-South American last-16 clashes, this is most definitely of the heavyweight variety, a rematch of last November’s entertaining friendly at Rogers Centre in Toronto, won 2-1 by Brazil. This promises to be a very different style of encounter though, with another all-South American matchup against either Colombia or Uruguay awaiting the winner in the quarter-final. For Brazil, it will be a case of carrying on where it left off in last Monday’s 4-1 thrashing of Cameroon to wrap up the round-robin stage. Forward Neymar da Santos Silva Jr. has starred as advertised in the tournament, with his four goals thus far placing him atop the race for the Golden Boot alongside Argentine rival Lionel Messi and Germany’s Thomas Mueller. Brazil’s attacking outlook will also have improved by the addition of Fred on to the scoresheet in that win against the Indomitable Lions, giving the team seven goals in its first three games. Chile may have lost its last group game, but a 2-0 loss to the in-form Dutch at this tournament is nothing to be ashamed about, particularly when it had already qualified for the knockout stages courtesy of impressive wins over Spain and Australia. The team’s lithe and skilled players could play havoc against the Brazilian defence, and in forward Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona, Chile possesses one of the genuine stars of this tournament, a fact club teammate Neymar is likely more than familiar with.

Assuming the Uruguayans actually take the field – the team had mooted a possible boycott of this game in response to the four-month suspension handed down to striker Luis Suarez by FIFA for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in last Tuesday’s match – they are likely to use the incident as a rallying cry. A semi-finalist four years ago in South Africa, an embattled Uruguayan squad is currently circling the wagons, with captain Diego Lugano stating, “We would like a fairer world, but that world simply does not exist.” No matter. Coming up against South American rival Colombia, La Celeste would have had their hands full with or without their nefarious nibbler up front. Sixteen years after its last appearance in the World Cup finals, Jose Pekerman’s team is back with a bang, having cruised through the group stage playing some dashing soccer at times. The play of Porto striker Jackson Martinez and AS Monaco playmaker James Rodriguez has more than made up for the absence of superstar striker Radamel Falcao, and having won all three games so far – albeit in a weak Group C – confidence is skyrocketing that the team can make the last eight of a World Cup for the very first time.