BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar saved two spot-kicks in a shootout against Chile to send the host into the World Cup quarterfinals 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time Saturday. Four years to the day since Brazil eliminated Chile at the same stage of the 2010 tournament, it did it again when Gonzalo Jara sent his spot-kick against the post after Cesar had twice denied the battling Chileans. Five-time champion Brazil will next play the winner of the other last-16 match later Saturday between Uruguay and Colombia. David Luiz put Brazil ahead after 18 minutes but Alexis Sanchez equalized for Chile before halftime. The Brazilians, who had eliminated their fellow South Americans in three previous World Cups, set a blistering pace from the start and Marcelo took a first crack at Chile with a volley that sailed wide. Chile quickly lost the battle in midfield but its defense kept tournament joint top scorer Neymar constantly in check. They were helpless, though, when Neymar whipped in a corner in the 18th minute, Thiago Silva headed it on and David Luiz, with what looked like some help from Chile's Jara, flicked it in for his first international goal in his 40th appearance. With the small red patches of Chile fans in the Mineirao Stadium swallowed up by a vast sea of yellow shirts, five-time champion Brazil kept pouring forward and Neymar should have done better when he raced clear only to drive a low shot wide. Chile, however, leveled 14 minutes later, after making the most of a throw-in mixup between Hulk and Marcelo, to send Alexis into the box and the forward drilling in to stun the crowd into temporary silence. Neymar, deciding to take matters into his own hands, went agonizingly close with a header that scraped past the post and controlled a superb deep cross-field ball to set up Fred, who fired high. Dani Alves tested Claudio Bravo with a thundering long-range effort but the Chile keeper did well to tip it over the bar. Brazil, which had won nine of its previous 10 meetings with Chile, thought it had scored again early in the second half when Hulk controlled a deep cross to drill in but referee Howard Webb booked the winger for handball. Brazil's players protested furiously but referee remained unmoved. At the other end Cesar pulled off a sensational save to deny Charles Aranguiz from point-blank range in a pulsating game where players of both teams resembled tightrope walkers with no safety with one wrong pass proving costly. Chile, running on empty in extra time, almost snatched a dramatic last-minute winner when Mauricio Pinilla rattled the crossbar with a tremendous shot. But keeper Cesar saved spot-kicks by Pinilla and Alexis before Jara failed to convert and the stadium erupted in celebration. – Reuters
