JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — As Brazil was dismantling Chile, a couple of fans delighted the crowd by parading around the stadium with two giant gold replicas of the World Cup trophy.
Another three games like this and Brazil could be hoisting the real thing - yet again.
With a mixture of symphony like teamwork and standout individual plays, Brazil routed South American rival Chile 3-0 on Monday night to advance to the quarterfinals. The five time champions will face the Netherlands, which earlier Monday defeated Slovakia 2-1, on Friday.
“Now it’s a match between two traditional teams with great players,” Brazil captain Lucio said. “Now the matches will get harder and harder.”
Brazil’s players were almost nonchalant after the victory as they shook hands and exchanged hugs. Who can blame them: reaching the later stages might as well be part of Brazil’s World Cup itinerary.
Brazil has reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup every time since the 1990 tournament in Italy, when it fell 1-0 to Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the second round. Brazil Coach Dunga and assistant coach Jorginho were starters on that Brazilian team.
The Brazilians won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups in that span.
“It was a very good performance for Brazil,” playmaker Kaka said. “I’m happy with how we played. It shows that we are improving after each match, just as planned.”
Chile hasn’t beaten Brazil in a decade and didn’t come close, freeing the folks in the stands to do the samba and the singing as the Brazilians moved closer to holding the real prize.
“When our opponent attacks like that, Brazil always creates a lot of chances,” Luis Fabiano said. “That was exactly what happened today and we took advantage of that.”
Juan opened the scoring in the 35th minute at Ellis Park Stadium with a header from near the penalty spot off a corner kick. Luis Fabiano added to the lead in the 38th, receiving a one-touch pass from Kaka and dribbling past goalkeeper Claudio Bravo inside the area before kicking itin the open net.
Robinho scored his first goal in the tournament with a shot from the top of the area in the 59th minute, a one-timer into the far corner. It was Robinho’s seventh goal in Brazil’s past six matches against the Chileans.
Chile is the first South American team eliminated. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are in the final eight, and Paraguay plays Japan today.
“We leave the tournament knowing that we gave everything on the pitch,” Bravo said. “We are a very fragile team at times. We attack very well, but we have to know when to defend.”
The victory in front of nearly 55,000 at Ellis Park extended Brazil’s dominance over Chile. It was the eighth consecutive victory; the last loss to Chile was 3-0 in a 2000 qualifier for the 2002 World Cup.
Led by Argentine Coach Marcelo Bielsa, Chile kept pace with the Brazilians in the beginning, threatening with some quick ball movement on offense.
But Brazil quickly gained control of the match and created some of the best opportunities. After Juan’s first goal, the Brazilians took advantage of their speedy strikers to keep the pressure on the Chileans.
Bravo already had to work hard on a long-range shot by Gilberto Silva, diving to his left and barely tipping the ball wide. A minute later, Kaka’s low shot from the top of the area also missed.
Humberto Suazo, back in Chile’s starting lineup after missing the loss to Spain, gave the Chileans their first opportunity in the 13th, but his shot from just outside the box was easily saved by goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
Chile was trying to advance past the second round for the first time since its home tournament in 1962, when it lost to eventual champion Brazil in the semifinals. Chile also lost to Brazil the last time it reached the round of 16, 4-1 in 1998 in France.
NETHERLANDS 2, SLOVAKIA 1
DURBAN, South Africa - Arjen Robben and his Dutch teammates advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals, but they seek much more.
The Netherlands reached the final eight Monday when standouts Robben and Wesley Sneijder scored in each half of a 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 offense - and they can credit Robben, who made his first start of the tournament after recovering from a hamstring injury.
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 scored with a low, precise shot from 20 yards.
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 near-deafening.
Sneijder doubled the lead into an empty net in the 84th after a gamble by Slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha backfired.
Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg preserved the victory with two key saves in the 67th and the Dutch extended their team-record unbeaten streak to 23 games. Robert Vittek scored on a last-second penalty kick for Slovakia, then rushed to the net to retrieve the ball, only to hear the final whistle.
It was only a month ago when Robben and Sneijder were on opposite sides of the pitch in the Champions League final - Robben with Bayern Munich and Sneijder with winner Inter Milan.
On Monday, they showcased some of the passing and scoring that is a trademark of the Netherlands when it is playing well. 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 shots from beyond the penalty area.
With a sharp breeze blowing in from the nearby Indian Ocean, Robben nearly doubled the lead in the 50th minute, but Mucha deflected his shot just wide of the goal. A minute later, Robben sent a cross inside the area and Mucha blocked a close-range shot 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.
The Netherlands won all three group games; its last loss was to Australia in September 2008, a run of 18 victories and five draws.
Sports, Pages 17 on 06/29/2010