BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Brazil advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over Chile following a tense and thrilling battle that ended 1-1 after extra time. Neymar, David Luiz and Marcelo scored in the shootout, and Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved two penalties before watching Gonzalo Jaras final attempt hit the post. "My teammates are giving me a lot of strength on the field so I give my best," Cesar said. "Were just three steps away and I hope to give another interview with Brazil partying." Brazil, which extended its 39-year unbeaten streak in home competitive matches to 61, will next face either Colombia or Uruguay in the quarterfinals. Neither team managed to score at the Mineirao Stadium after first-half goals from Luiz and Sanchez, but Brazil came close to an early exit when Mauricio Pinillas shot hit the crossbar in the final moments of extra time. Chile also had the best chance in the second half, when Cesars spectacular save on Charles Aranguizs shot kept the score even. Brazil has reached the quarterfinals of each World Cup since Argentina eliminated it in the second round in 1990. Getting knocked out at that stage in its own World Cup would have been a disaster. But the Brazilians overcame their nerves in the shootout, with Neymar scoring the final penalty after Cesar stopped spot kicks from Pinilla and Sanchez. When Jara hit the post, some of Brazils players celebrated wildly while others fell to the ground, exhausted and emotionally drained. Willian, who missed a penalty for Brazil, sobbed uncontrollably, as Fred helped him to his feet. As the crowd roared, the Brazilian players joined hands in a human chain. The Chileans stood still, staring into the ground, wiping the sweat off their faces. "We tried to give everything, we tried to fight for a dream, and we didnt achieve it," Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal said. "But we gave all our effort on the pitch." Calling it a "harsh" loss, Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli said he had been convinced his team would come out the winner. "Do you think I can be satisfied with the result?" Sampaoli said. "Weve played a hard 120 minutes even if everybody was against us in the stadium." Brazil went ahead in the 18th minute after Thiago Silva deflected Neymars corner kick toward the far post. Luiz was given the goal but replays showed Chile defender Gonzalo Jara may have touched the ball before it went in. Brazil lost the lead when it failed to cope with Chiles aggressive pressure in a throw-in situation deep inside Brazils half of the field. Eduardo Vargas intercepted Hulks pass and found Sanchez on the right side of the area. The Barcelona striker scored easily with a shot toward the far post. Neymar, Fred and Dani Alves had chances in the first half while a second-half goal from Hulk was disallowed when referee Howard Webb ruled he handled the ball. Chile has never beaten Brazil in Brazil but was hoping for another upset after eliminating defending champion Spain in the group stage. "We played the toughest opponents in the tournament, Spain, Holland, Brazil, and we never played like a team that was weaker than anyone else," said Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, who blocked Hulks attempt in the shootout and watched Willians shot go wide. "The truth is that we are very sad because we could have won the match before, we should have taken advantage of some good chances," Bravo said. "We felt we could win and we didnt." John Mayberry Jersey .J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. David Wells Jersey . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/3176h-paul...lue-jays.html.Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. Joe Carter Blue Jays Jersey . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. Billy McKinney Blue Jays Jersey .com) - Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is joining the Major League Baseball Players Association staff as a senior advisor to executive director Tony Clark.BRASILIA, Brazil -- Cristiano Ronaldos first goal of the World Cup earned Portugal a 2-1 win over Ghana but couldnt prevent his team being eliminated from the tournament along with the Africans on Thursday. Portugal finished level on four points with second-place United States in Group G but with an inferior goal difference. Germany topped the group after beating the U.S. 1-0 in Recife. Ronaldo slammed home the winner at Estadio Nacional with his left foot in the 80th minute to break his drought in Brazil and give Portugal its first win. He barely celebrated, though, with the goal coming too late to help Portugal qualify at the expense of the Americans. "We created many opportunities but we could not finish them," Ronaldo said. "We knew we had to score three goals and were depending on the result of the Germany game and we couldnt do that. "We deserved more, but thats football. We are leaving with our heads held high." Ghana captain Asamaoh Gyans 57th-minute header cancelled out an own goal scored by teammate John Boye in the 31st. It was a bittersweet ending to the World Cup for Ronaldo, who has been nursing a left leg injury and seen the likes of Brazil star Neymar and Argentina captain Lionel Messi upstage him with four goals apiece. The world player of the year earned the man-of-the-match award after a display that could easily have yielded three or four goals. Ronaldo struck the bar in the first half and had two great chances in injury time, but glanced a close-range finish over the bar and then shot straight at Fatawu Dauda when one on one with the goalkeeper. It was too little, too late from Ronaldo, who was downbeat as he trudged off the pitch after the final whistle. The result brought to an end a typically eventful few weeks in Brazil for the Ghanaiaans, who were part of thrilling games against the United States and Germany before their campaign ended in turmoil on and off the pitch.dddddddddddd Their players took to the field in the Brazilian capital amid a dispute with the countrys football federation over alleged unpaid World Cup bonuses. Adding to the chaos, two of the teams star players -- Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng -- were booted out of the squad hours before Thursdays kickoff for disciplinary reasons. "I dont think it had an impact on the game," said Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah, who confirmed that his players received their appearance-fee payments before kickoff as requested. "We had our chances but couldnt take them." It was perhaps no surprise that Ghana delivered its most subdued display of the tournament, ensuring the team finished bottom of the group and resulting in Ronaldo getting time and space to enjoy his most lively performance in Brazil. He could have had a hat trick by the time he finally found the net. An over-hit cross in the fifth minute flew over Dauda and slammed against the bar before the Real Madrid superstar squandered a gilt-edged chance, heading straight at the keeper from six yards (meters) out. After having two stinging shots saved, he was bailed out by Boye, who sliced Miguel Velosos cross into the top corner of his own net to give the Portuguese a halftime lead they just about deserved. Gyan could hardly miss with a header after Kwadwo Asamaohs delicious cross with the outside of his left foot, making it 1-1. With Germany having just taken the lead in Recife, Ghana was only a goal away from progressing at that stage. However, Ronaldo had the final say, making no mistake from eight yards (meters) out after Dauda had parried the ball high into the air. ' ' '
