Man of the match: Tough call between
Gilberto Silva and Michel Bastos, but Bastos gets the nod for keeping
Chile dangerman Alexis Sanchez quiet.
Moment of the match: Brazil's second goal was a typical Brazil effort as Robinho, Kaka and Fabiano combined to open up the Chile defence.
Attempt of the match: The hard-working Suazo produced a superb turn and shot inside the box which forced Cesar into his only real save of the game.
Save of the match: Bravo produced a flying save to keep out Gilberto Silva's powerful shot in the first half.
Talking point: Can anyone stop Brazil as they look strong in defence as well as in attack?
Goal of the game: Kaka provided a superb cushioned pass to Fabiano who coolly rounded the goalkeeper before slotting home.
Moment of the match: Brazil's second goal was a typical Brazil effort as Robinho, Kaka and Fabiano combined to open up the Chile defence.
Attempt of the match: The hard-working Suazo produced a superb turn and shot inside the box which forced Cesar into his only real save of the game.
Save of the match: Bravo produced a flying save to keep out Gilberto Silva's powerful shot in the first half.
Talking point: Can anyone stop Brazil as they look strong in defence as well as in attack?
Goal of the game: Kaka provided a superb cushioned pass to Fabiano who coolly rounded the goalkeeper before slotting home.
Brazil progressed into the quarter-finals of
the World Cup to play Holland after a comfortable 3-0 victory over South
American rivals Chile.
Dunga's side were in complete control of the game in Johannesburg,
although Chile came out of the blocks firing for the first
quarter-of-an-hour.But after seeing off the early pressure, Brazil soon asserted their authority on the game and took the lead in the 35th minute when Juan headed in Maicon's corner.
If the opener was not a typical Brazilian goal, their second certainly was. Just three minutes later Kaka slipped in Luis Fabiano and the in-form striker rounded goalkeeper Claudio Bravo before slotting home.
The result was secured just before the hour mark as Robinho picked up the ball after a superb run from Ramires, and he curled it into the far corner from the edge of the area leaving Bravo with no chance.
It has been no easy run for Brazil - they emerged from a 'Group of Death' unscathed and with reputations enhanced, and on this evidence the Dutch will need to summon up the spirits of past greats if they are to challenge Dunga's men.
Kaka remains Brazil's talisman and the Real Madrid midfielder was impressive on his return from suspension - though he managed to pick up his third booking of the tournament after English referee Howard Webb was unimpressed with his trip on a Chile player.
Punishment
After Juan had opened the scoring, punishing Chile for their failure to deal with Brazil's aerial threat at a corner from Maicon, Kaka was heavily involved in the second goal.Robinho began the move with a burst down the left and an early ball into Kaka in the middle. One brilliant first-time pass split the Chile central defenders asunder and left Fabiano able to skip past keeper Bravo and finish.
Credit too to English linesman Michael Mullarkey for a perfect call to judge the Sevilla striker onside.
The goal made up for Fabiano having dragged his shot wide after being put in the clear by a super ball from Dani Alves.
Brazil had almost drawn first blood earlier through Gilberto Silva, proving in this match and not for the first time that Arsene Wenger committed a rare blunder in disposing of his services two years ago, who hit a fierce long-range effort that Bravo turned aside at full stretch.
Chile's main hope looked to be through the creative instincts of their gifted 21-year-old Alexis Sanchez, a player being watched by a number of Premier League clubs including Manchester United.
The Udinese player certainly provided Brazil with something to think about with a series of decent touches - one lovely pass for Humberto Suazo promised much but the striker did not match up with a disappointing effort to lob Julio Cesar.
Brazil could afford to take their foot off the gas at half-time, so minimal was the threat posed by Marcelo Bielsa's Chileans, but they still managed to extend their lead.
Robinho was the man to strike just before the hour mark, curling it effortlessly past Bravo but he had Ramires to thank after a blistering run by the Benfica midfielder.
Thunderbolt
Alves hit a thunderbolt that must have had Bravo worried but it drifted just wide, before Jorge Valdivia came as close as Chile had managed to a reply, teeing himself up and then firing just over from the edge of the box.Kaka nearly claimed the goal his performance deserved after a surge down the left by Michel Bastos but was narrowly off target.
Bravo kept the score respectable by denying Robinho and then Suazo neatly turned Lucio - and not many players have done that this tournament - but Julio Cesar beat away his strike.
The game was up for Chile however and Dunga rubbed salt in the wound by taking off Kaka and sending on Kleberson - the player who flopped so dismally at Manchester United - to illustrate Brazil's overwhelming superiority.
Robben's return sends Dutch into quarters
The Netherlands also won
all three of its group games, with its last loss coming to Australia in
September 2008.
DURBAN, South Africa -- Impressive as Arjen Robben and his Dutch teammates were in advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals, they still seek much more from their game.
The Netherlands reached the final eight Monday when standouts Robben and Wesley Sneijder scored in each half of a 2-1 victory over Slovakia."We played a difficult match. Main thing is, we are through," Robben said. "Probably the perfect game has still to come."
The Dutch might need to approach perfection in their next match against five-time champion Brazil. For now, they can enjoy the rekindling of the crafty Dutch offence -- and they can credit Robben, who made his first start of the tournament after recovering from a hamstring injury.
"We must play better against Brazil ... that's for sure," Robben said.
The Oranje, who have never won soccer's biggest prize, went ahead in the 18th minute when Robben cut inside from the right wing and found the net with a low, precise shot from 20 yards.
"It's fantastic," coach Bert van Marwijk said. "After such an injury that he has the touch to score a goal like that."
The Moses Mabhida Stadium was filled mostly with orange-clad Netherlands fans and they blasted their vuvuzelas on Robben's first touch. After his goal, the sound became deafening.
Sneijder doubled the lead into an empty net in the 84th after a gamble by Slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha backfired.
"We had a good first half hour. And we started well in the second half," Van Marwijk said. "We should have scored 2-0, 3-0, maybe 4-0 there."
It was only a month ago when Robben and Sneijder were on opposite sides in the Champions League final, Robben with Bayern Munich and Sneijder with winner Inter Milan.
Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg preserved the win with two key saves in the 67th, and the Dutch extended their team-record unbeaten streak to 23 games.
"At a crucial stage Maarten Stekelenburg saved us," Van Marwijk said.
Robert Vittek pulled one back for Slovakia from the penalty spot in injury time, tying him with Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuain for the tournament scoring lead with four goals.
Slovakia upset Italy 3-2 in its previous match, a result that eliminated the defending champions, and had to be satisfied with its tournament debut as an independent nation.
"We played with heart and courage and we are proud that we made it to the second round, but the better team advanced," Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss said. "The penalty made us feel a little better on the flight home."
Robben injured his left hamstring on June 5 in the Netherlands' final warmup match against Hungary. He came on as a second-half substitute against Cameroon in the Netherlands' last group match and hit the post, after which Klaas Jan Huntelaar knocked in the rebound to seal a 2-1 win.
This time, Sneijder sent Robben sprinting upfield with a long, accurate pass and the winger did what he's been doing all season with Bayern -- scoring with long shots from beyond the area.
"I was pretty free in my game," Robben said. "I know I'm not yet at my top level, but I was pretty confident today and that was a great pass by Wesley."
Weiss said he had been preparing his team specifically for Robben for three days.
"But he's a total genius, and when I saw him in the starting lineup I thought he makes the Dutch team 50 per cent stronger -- and I was right," the Slovakia coach said.
With a sharp breeze blowing in from the nearby Indian Ocean, Robben nearly doubled the lead in the 50th but goalkeeper Jan Mucha deflected his shot just wide of the goal. A minute later, Robben sent a dangerous cross inside the area and Mucha blocked a close-range effort from Joris Mathijsen.
In the 71st, when he was replaced by Eljero Elia, Robben exited to a standing ovation.
Sneijder sealed the victory when Dirk Kuyt drew Mucha out of his net and had nobody to beat for his second goal of the tournament, also having found the target in a 1-0 win over Japan.
Slovakia was awarded a penalty in the third minute of injury time, when substitute Martin Jakubko was taken down inside the area.
Otherwise, Slovakia's two best chances both came in the 67th. Stekelenburg leaped to tip a powerful shot from Miroslav Stoch over the crossbar and then Vittek, who scored twice against Italy, directed his shot too close to the Netherlands goalkeeper seconds later.
The Netherlands also won all three of its group games, with its last loss coming to Australia in September 2008, a run of 18 wins and five draws.
The Netherlands reached consecutive World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978 but lost both -- to Germany and Argentina, respectively. Its only major tournament victory was the 1988 European Championship.