Samba kings find their rhythm

The Brazilians, who did just enough to reach the knockout phase, stepped up a gear in the round of 16 to give Chile a 3-0 hiding that had class and intent written all over it.

Carlos Dunga’s team now faces the Netherlands in a mouth-watering quarter-final at the weekend.

If it succeeds in beating the Dutch, Brazil will run into the winner of the Uruguay-Ghana quarter-final for a place in the final against either Spain/Paraguay or Germany/Argentina.

Judging by the exuberance of their play against the Chileans, the ‘Auriverde’ would surprise no one if they went on to land their sixth world title in Johannesburg on Monday week.

If that happened, the South American master amazingly will have won a world title in four continents and five confederations.

After losing a home “final” against Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro in 1950, Brazil prevailed in Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962, Mexico in 1970, United States in 1994 and Japan in 2002.

South Africa 2010 would complete the remarkable collection to give Brazil’s inter-continental domination of the game a new dimension.

Brazil has its critics but its destruction of the Chileans left no room for any doubt whether it could go all the way.

Yes, the Brazilians are as tough and uncompromising as can be in defence where Maicon, Lucio and Juan reign supreme.

Yet they can be breathtaking and simply irresistible when going forward. Possibly even more so than Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

The fearsome attacking threesome of strikers Luis Fabiano and Robinho and Kaka tucked in behind, will take some stopping.

History against Europe

With all respect to Euro 2008 finalists Spain and Germany, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of South America as the World Cup enters the quarter-final stage.

Europe dominated the tournament in Germany four years ago and had four teams in the semi-finals but this time the proud South Americans are poised to turn the tables on their European rivals and have a team in each quarter-final.

The European challenge in South Africa has whittled away and the ‘old world’ has only three teams left after starting the tournament with 13.

Yet it’s the history element that makes Europe’s chances of prevailing in the first winter World Cup since 1978 rather remote.

No European team, you see, has ever won a World Cup outside its own continent.

This is the 19th World Cup and the ninth time the game’s biggest event is being held outside Europe.

The nearest any European team came to prevailing “abroad” was Italy which lost the 1994 final against Brazil in Pasadena, California, on penalties after a goalless draw.