CSMS Magazine Staff Writers
“A hammer-strike header. A pinball-style counterattack. An explosive run followed by a clinical finish—Brazil’s football orchestra was playing in true harmony Monday for the first time in the tournament.” That’s how Karl Ritter from the Associated Press sums up the team awakening during this match with Chile.
The game started with a slow start, which sent many Brazilian fans around the world into a moment of anxiety. Then, about a half hour into the game, the Dunga boys finally found the samba rhythm.
Brazil has not lost a game since the world competition began. But many of its fans complained that they don’t just want to see their favorite team play and win, they also want to see it make the difference in style—a style that had not been shown until this afternoon meet with Chile.
This afternoon victory confirms that Brazil is the most improved team so far. The team sluggishly and painfully won against North Korea 2-1. Then it improved its standing with a 3-1 win against Ivory Coast, but was kept at bay by the Portuguese in a disappointing scoreless draw. But Dunga has been urging patience, and the 3-0 victory against the boys of coach Marcelo Bielsa’s team of Chile seemed to have proved his point.
“It was likely our best match so far,” said Maicon, who struck the corner kick that set up Juan’s powerful header for 1-0. “We did well against a team that had been playing well so far in the tournament. It was important to show that we can come up with a good performance when needed.”
Many observers believed the Chileans never had a chance. Even Jean Beausejour, the Haitian-Chilean striker, was unable to make reduce the score. But Beausejour, just as Altidore, is the pride of all Haitians. He is an indispensable player in Chile.
But Dunga is urging cautions. “Given the quality of the Brazilian players there is always this expectation that Brazil will be the winners,” Dunga said. “But being favorite doesn’t mean you will win the World Cup.”
Also see https://csmsmagazine.org/the-u-s-knocked-out-of-the-world-cup/
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