Brazil wary of Chile threat (TSN 1050, TSN 690, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) South American rivals Brazil and Chile open up the second round of the World Cup at the Estadio Mineirao on Saturday in an intriguing contest. Kyle Turris Jersey . It is also a matchup that Brazil head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes will be a serious test for his side. "If I could choose another opponent, I would," Scolari said a few days ago when asked about playing Chile. "I think theyre the trickiest side we could have been drawn against. They have everything." Chile advanced to the knockout round from a difficult Group B that included the Netherlands, Spain and Australia. La Roja started its tournament with wins over Australia and Spain to book a place in the next round before sitting a few key players in the group finale against the Netherlands, which topped Chile, 2-0, to win the group. One of the players that Chile head coach Jorge Sampaoli decided to rest against the Dutch was midfielder Arturo Vidal, who underwent knee surgery prior to the start of the tournament and who is expected to come straight back into the lineup against the hosts on Saturday. Vidal, along with Alexis Sanchez and Charles Aranguiz, will provide the biggest offensive threats for Chile, which will hope to exploit a Brazil back line that tends to get forward a lot and could be susceptible to counter attacks. As expected, Brazil finished atop Group A after wins over Croatia and Cameroon and a 0-0 draw with Mexico. The Selecao netted seven goals in three group-stage matches, including four from star forward Neymar, despite not appearing to hit top gear. Now, Scolari knows his team must take its play to the next level to get past a tough Chile side. "I hope that Chile dont qualify for the last 16," the coach said back in December after the draw for the World Cup. "I would prefer to face any other side. They are intelligent and their style of play doesnt suit us. It would be better to play against a European team." Scolari didnt get his wish, but his team may be able to exploit a height advantage against Chile to get to the quarterfinals. Against Australia in the group stage, Chiles shorter defenders struggled to cope with the aerial threat of Tim Cahill, while the Dutch scored on a header from Leroy Fer in the second half of the group finale to take the lead. Brazil should be a real threat from any set-piece opportunity in the attacking third with players like Fred, David Luiz and Thiago Silva able to get on the other end of crosses. Neymar has been as good as advertised so far, while Brazils threat in the air will also pose a stiff challenge for the Chileans. A win for Chile would give the club its first berth in the quarterfinals at a World Cup since 1962, and Sanchez is confident that his side will make history. "We have respect for them [Brazil] but I think we are going to beat them," he said. "We came to this World Cup to make history. We beat the world champions and, although we had a slip-up against Holland, we are going out to try and win the Cup." Colombia squares off with Suarez-less Uruguay (TSN 1050, TSN 1200, TEAM 1410) Uruguay has attracted plenty of attention at the 2014 World Cup, and not always for the right reasons, but the team will attempt to put its distractions aside against an impressive Colombia outfit at the Maracana on Saturday in the round of 16. Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has been a lightning rod for attention in Brazil, first sitting out his teams 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica after knee surgery, and then making a triumphant return against England that saw him score twice in a 2-1 Uruguay win. But the Liverpool striker stunned the soccer world by biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in the second half of Uruguays 1-0 win in the group-stage finale to book a place in the second round. Suarez was not punished on the field, but FIFAs Disciplinary Committee came down hard on him after reviewing the incident, banning Suarez for nine international matches and from all football-related activity for four months. The loss of Suarez will put added pressure on forward Edinson Cavani, whose only goal so far in the tournament was a penalty kick in the opening match. Veteran Diego Forlan is expected to come in for Suarez, but this team has so far looked like a much different side with Suarez in the lineup than without him. Uruguay needed a win over Italy in its final Group D match to advance, and it wasnt Suarez who provided the difference, rather it was defender Diego Godin. The Atletico Madrid man scored the goal that clinched La Liga for his side in the final game of the season in May, while he also put Atletico ahead with a goal in the Champions League final. And he popped up once again to head home the winning goal against Italy in the final 10 minutes. "We didnt make it easy for ourselves, starting the way we did, and it was a miracle that we pulled it off in the end," Godin said of his team finally securing a place in the knockout round. "Now we can start thinking about the last 16, but no further. We respect everyone but fear no one." Godin will need to be on top of his game defensively if Uruguay is to reach the quarterfinals because his team is coming up against a Colombia side that has been one of the most impressive at the tournament so far. The Colombians won all three of their group-stage matches by a combined score of 9-2, with midfielder James Rodriguez turning in an especially impressive performance. The 22-year-old Monaco man has netted three goals with three assists so far, and along with Juan Cuadrado, Teofilo Gutierrez and Jackson Martinez, Godin and Uruguay will have their hands full. Colombia has also enjoyed some incredibly vocal support from its fans, making its three group matches feel like home games according to 21-year-old midfielder Juan Quintero. "Its like were playing in Barranquilla," Quintero said of the support Colombia has received. "The fans are 100 percent behind us and that makes us feel great. Were playing for our people and we want to make them as happy as we can." A win over Uruguay on Saturday would no doubt please Colombian supporters, especially since it would mark the first time that Colombia has ever advanced to the quarterfinals at a World Cup. Zack Smith Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. Dion Phaneuf Jersey . The team announced the defensive coordinator will not be offered a contract extension. http://www.hockeysenatorsonline.us/ryan-dzingel-hockey-jersey/ . But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout.TORONTO -- No Jermain Defoe. Two key defenders out with injury. And Dwayne De Rosario and two young squad players away with the Canadian national team. The Greg Vanney era as manager of Toronto FC is starting with more than a few challenges. Vanney, the MLS clubs former assistant general manager and still academy director, braved grey skies and rain Tuesday in his second practice since Ryan Nelsen and five assistant coaches were fired Sunday in a bid to stop the slide of a big-ticket team that has gone 3-5-5 in its last 13 games. At 9-9-6 with 10 games to go, Toronto currently stands fourth in the Eastern Conference with 33 points, in the thick of the playoff picture but also just five points above the ninth-place team. The top five in the conference make the playoffs. Vanney, a former assistant coach at Chivas USA, jumps into the deep end Wednesday night as Toronto visits seventh-place Philadelphia, which at 7-9-9 is just three points behind. The two teams meet again Saturday in Toronto. Vanney exuded calm, however, as he met the media after practice. The same feeling was translated to his players. "In a crazy two or three days, Greg has come in and handled it tremendously," said star midfielder Michael Bradley. "He has a strong but calm way of leading." "When youre at a club that is going through some crazy times and some crazy days, its important that the leaders within that club are strong. And I think Greg has done an incredible job of that." Vanney, a 40-year-old American, played professionally for 13 years, winning three MLS Cups, the U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions Cup with the Los Angeles Galaxy. After the 2001 season, he moved to SC Bastia in France before returning to MLS in 2005 with FC Dallas. The all-star defender went on to play for the Colorado Rapids, D.C. United and the Galaxy again before retiring at the end of the 2008 season. He won 36 caps for the U.S. national side. Like Nelsen in weeks gone by, Vanney does not have a full hand to play with as the team takes on Philadelphia. Defoe is back home in England dealing with a groin injury while pundits debate whether he really wants to continue in Major League Soccer. Captain Steven Caldwell (quad) and fellow defender Justin Morrow are still out while midfielder-defender Warren Creavalle (hamstring) is probably a game away. Defenders Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan are back from the national team camp, but De Rosario, young goalie Quillan Roberts and midfielder Kyle Bekker are still preparing for an international friendly next Tuesday against Jamaica. The depleted roster will mean changes, although Vanney was understandably cagey about the kind of formation he will use. Anything will be better than the lackadaisical display Saturday in a 3-0 loss to the visiting New England Revolution. "Whats important for me is that we bring a high level of energy to the field and that we bring a confidence level to the field that were going to try and get three points, that were not going to try to survive," Vanney said. "I really want us to feel that we can let loose and play with some freedom, but with our tactics in mind the whole game. Christian Jaros Jersey. " "We have a plan," he added, "but its a short-put-together plan. But Im confident in the group we have because we have some special players." Vanney said his preferred style is to "dictate the game, on both sides of the ball." That is at odds to the counter-attacking style employed by Nelsen, although the former manager looked to combine that with possession as the game and opposition dictated. "I dont like waiting and letting the other team dictate what we do," said Vanney. "I want to try to put the game in our vision of the game, not wait and see what the oppositions vision of the game is. And that requires us to be proactive through the course of the match. I like to be possession-oriented and I like to be attacking-minded." He cautioned that such an evolution will take time, but added: "This group is built to be dynamic." Bradley will be getting a new role, dispatched further up the field. Under Nelsen, Bradleys role seemed all-encompassing with the American international often taking the ball from the centre back to trigger an attack with his pinpoint passing. "I think Michaels strengths are to play forward and to feel the freedom to move forward and drive the team," said Vanney. "Hes a great final passer, hes great at arriving into the (penalty) box late and driving into attacks late. Hes outstanding at closing people down. "We just have to make sure were all doing it together. It doesnt make sense if one guys closing people down and four guys, five guys around him are dropping back. Its making sure that were all on the same page." Jason Bent, the lone holdover among Nelsens assistant coaches, was joined at practice by academy head goalie coach Jon Conway, under-14 coach Nick Theslof and Jim Liston, the academys director of sports science. While praising each one, Vanney said it was an interim staff while everything is being assessed. "This has all happened so fast, were going to evaluate," he said. "I want to make sure theyre all comfortable in the roles and the positions that we see for them." The change has been so fast that Nelsens parking space and sign was still in place Tuesday, a lone empty stall in the lot outside the clubs north Toronto practice facility. There was one immediate change under the new regime. Reporters were allowed to watch practice from the edge of the field. Under Nelsen, the Hubble telescope was needed to see what was going on with drills held far away. Asked what his message to fans was, Bradley replied: "Keep the faith. "I dont pretend to know everything thats gone on at this club since Day 1. I know that theres been promises, heartbreak, disappointment. "But its only going to mean that the people who are with us and the people who are going to be there when we do get this right and when we do have success, its only going to make it that much better." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '