The quarter-finals’ all-South American clash was set to be the most exciting of the round. The hosts have been lacklustre but still managed to advance past a testing Chile side, while Colombia were the last really entertaining side left in the tournament albeit showing some defensive frailties. Luiz Felipe Scolari brought back Paulinho into the side due to Luiz Gustavo’s suspension and Maicon made his first start ahead of Dani Alves. Jose Pekerman changed back to the 4-2-3-1 he had mainly used in the group stage, bringing back Victor Ibarbo for Jackson Martinez and for some reason giving Fredy Guarin a start over Abel Aguilar. The Brazilians’ strategy here was very similar to what we saw against Chile: their defensive line sat deep and this opening up the centre of the pitch. You would expect this to mean they have basically conceded the midfield, but instead it baited Colombia into played at a faster tempo than they usually would so neither team had much control over the flow. Colombia could pick up the ball and drive through the middle, tiring themselves out just as the Chileans had done. The constant need for the full-backs to get up and down and […]
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