Teresopolis : Brazil and Colombia get set to enter the World Cup quarterfinals with totally different mindsets.
Brazil is surrounded by doubts after a more difficult start than expected to the tournament it is hosting. Colombia is upbeat after convincing performances and four straight wins.
While the hosts narrowly beat Chile in a penalty shootout to avoid elimination in the second round, the Colombians had a convincing 2-0 win over Uruguay to reach the quarterfinals for the first time.
The South American rivals play Friday in the north-eastern city of Fortaleza, with Brazil hoping to keep alive its quest for a sixth World Cup title and Colombia aiming to extend its best ever run in football’s showcase event.
Despite its tradition and home-field advantage, Brazil is far from a big favorite. An uncomfortable opening win over Croatia, a draw with Mexico and a win over Cameroon in the group stage preceded the tight knockout match against Chile, when Brazil advanced on penalties.
”It’s normal to have people demanding that we play better,” Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. ”But it’s also normal what we have been seeing in this World Cup so far. There were a lot of even matches. There is no difference between teams that have tradition and world titles and the rest of the teams. Matches are being decided on penalties, in the final minutes, on mistakes.”
Colombia has won all of its matches without any real difficulty, thanks in part to the tournament’s second-best attack with 11 goals, one less than the Netherlands. It also has a strong defense with only two goals conceded. Brazil, meanwhile, has scored eight goals and conceded three.
”We’re very happy because we are making history,” said Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez, the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals. ”We want to do even more because this is a team that really wants to win.”
