The battle to avoid Brazil

Netherlands and Chile go head-to-head on Monday knowing that defeat will leave them facing the prospect of taking on Brazil in their own back yard

By Kris Voakes in Sao Paulo
The hordes of yellow shirts fill the crowd, the players and fans belt out the national anthem in unison, the spirit envelopes everybody in close proximity. And then, of course, there is Neymar.
There is something special about Brazil inviting the rest of the world to see what can become of football when a whole country pulls in one direction for a couple of hours. The hairs on the back of the neck have rarely been more alert, even for neutrals.
But it is hardly the most mouth-watering of prospects for an opposing national team and, for one of Netherlands and Chile, it will almost certainly become a reality at the weekend.
Brazil will probably qualify from Group A as winners, while it would take a pair of freak results on Monday evening to knock out the Selecao and spare both Louis van Gaal and Jorge Sampaoli from having to plot a route past the host nation on the way to the quarter-finals.
The probability is that the early kick-off at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo has become a play-off for the right to avoid Brazil. With both nations having already qualified, such a fixture might normally be expected to be a non-event. But given the apparent booby prize awaiting the loser, this one suddenly takes on another guise.
“It is going to be a final,” claimed Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal in a press conference on Sunday. “Both teams want to win the group, and it is certainly going to be difficult to play Brazil in their own country in the World Cup.