As the knockout round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off tonight, tournament hosts and strong contenders for the cup, Brazil will be hoping to continue their excellent form against Chile in the first of the eight knockout matches. Brazil’s road to the last-16 consisted of two wins against Croatia and Cameroon and a goalless draw against Mexico, as they finished top of their group with 7 points.
The Brazilians have an impressive past record against Chile, with the Selecao having never lost a game against their fellow South Americans since 2000 and have won 10 of their last 12 meetings. They have also defeated Chile at the same stage of the competition in two previous World Cups, 1998 (4-1) and 2010 (3-0).
Their captain and iconic defender, Thiago Silva has been in impressive form in the World Cup so far. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s best central defenders and is a crucial part of the team setup of French giants Paris St. Germain, where he has spent the last two seasons and in the process, led them as captain to become Ligue 1 champions in both seasons. He arrived at PSG for an enormous fee of €46 million from Italian team AC Milan. This transfer made him the most expensive defender in the world.
He is known for his aerial dominance in both defensive and attacking positions, in addition to his physical strength and awareness of the game as a defender. He excels at reading and anticipating opposition attacks and is also composed in possession. Legendary Italian defender Franco Baresi regards him as the centre back of the current generation that most resembles him.
His form at the World Cup has been good but we have seen moments of weakness from the Brazilian defence at times. Although they conceded only two goals in the group stages, it was attributed to Brazil attacking style of play. On a personal level, Silva has been excellent in the three matches but his defensive partners have often failed to support him. He will have to complete his duty as captain and lift his defence to perform against Chile tonight.
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