Chile pay the penalty

Penalties are the cruellest way to lose a match but that is what happened to Chile in their round of 16 clash against hosts Brazil.

Many had expected Brazil to walk away with this one but Chile, who beat holders Spain to help them progress to the knockout phase, can be proud of their efforts as they refused to give up in this nail-biting and entertaining contest.

When captain Thiago Silva headed on for David Luiz to flick in his first goal for his country after 18 minutes it seemed the game would be going according to the script, but Chile had other ideas.

Alexis Sanchez, who is on the radar of a number of clubs this summer, levelled matters after 32 minutes when the hosts gifted possession to Eduardo Vargas who set up the Barcelona man to drill the ball home. Game on!

All the pressure was on Brazil and anything other than lifting the trophy is likely to be considered a failure for the hosts this summer.

Brazil thought they had taken the lead in the second half went Hulk put the ball in the net but England's sole representative left in the tournament, Howard Webb, disallowed the goal for handball. It was a tough one to call for Webb, especially in real time without the benefit of the replays we could see, and opinions seemed divided among those watching the game.

Julio Cesar, who fell down the pecking order to third choice at QPR before being loaned out, and his Chilean counterpart Claudio Bravo were in fine form and produced some stunning saves to keep the scores level and force extra time.

Hulk looked lively for the hosts and forced another save from Bravo in extra time, while Mauricio Pinilla smashed an effort against the crossbar in the dying seconds of the match. So onto the dreaded penalties!

Such a cruel way to decide a game, could there be a better way? This is often questioned but, although it is horrible to watch when your own team is involved, as a neutral it is a truly great way to see a game end. It is pot luck, anything can happen, and you literally have no idea what is about to unfold! Such great drama.

QPR's third choice goalkeeper Cesar proved to be the hero, saving two spot-kicks, before Gonzalo Jara hit a post to break Chilean hearts and keep hosts Brazil on course for the trophy.

Chile were never expected to get out of a group including Holland and Spain so to reach the knockout stages and then run hosts Brazil all the way is something the whole nation can be proud of.

But who would be playing Brazil in the quarter final? In another all South American tie, Colombia faced Uruguay with several neutrals routing for the team in yellow due to Luis Suarez's recent biting incident.

Colombia progressed with a 2-0 victory and once again James Rodriguez was the star of the show. The winger has been one of the best players at this tournament, scoring in every game so far, and as an Arsenal fan I'd love to see Arsene Wenger bring him to the Emirates this summer. In fact, he would be top of my shopping list for sure, but any move is unlikely. No harm dreaming though!

When it looked like Tim Cahill was an almost certainty to get goal of the tournament, Rodriguez produced something special from his bag of tricks.

Rodriguez, who is currently the tournament's top scorer with five goals, cushioned the ball expertly before turning to execute a thunderous volley that crashed in off the crossbar. An astonishing goal and a truly remarkable tournament so far for that man Rodriguez!

Uruguay tried to get back in the game and Alvaro Gonzalez forced a fine save from David Ospina before the break. That missed proved costly as Colombia doubled their advantage within five minutes of the restart. A fine attacking move ended with Pablo Armero crossing for Juan Cuadrado to head the ball onto Rodriguez to fire home from close range.

Uruguay could have got back into the game had it not been for the fine reflexes of Ospina who produced another stunning performance for Colombia.

Ospina has been one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament and Colombia, who have been the stand-out team so far, fully deserved their win.

The quarter final will be another all South American affair as Colombia attempt to cause an upset against hosts Brazil. Brazil will be the clear favourites but if Colombia can maintain their fine form they are capable of pushing them all the way and possibly claiming a result.

In a tournament where expecting the unexpected is becoming more and more normal, who knows what might happen. The passion of the tournament will continue to live on as long as Brazil remain in the tournament but, at the same time, it would be fantastic to see the underdogs progress.

Let the drama continue!

Come on you underdogs!