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Soccer

Tim Vickery makes and breaks the case for Brazil and Colombia

"If you're basing it on what you've seen in the competition so far, you'd make Colombia slight fa...



Tim Vickery makes and breaks t...
Soccer

Tim Vickery makes and breaks the case for Brazil and Colombia

"If you're basing it on what you've seen in the competition so far, you'd make Colombia slight favourites. But if you're basing it on tradition, no question about it."

With World Cup hosts Brazil set to take on Colombia in Friday's World Cup quarter-finals, BBC South American joined us from Brazil to set the scene and he believes it would be the "greatest achievement in Colombian football" if they were to beat the Brazilians.

Tim alluded to the psychological hurdle that Colombia will have to vault when he reminded us that Colombia have only beaten Brazil twice, the last time 20 years ago.

"It's got all the ingredients for an absolutely fascinating game. If you're looking to favour the Colombian side, you'd say this is the game that Brazil would rather have their holding midfielder Luiz Gustavo because he plays a vital role in the team," said Tim, explaining how Gustavo's introduction to the team last year helped balance Brazil and why James Rodriguez could profit in the space left behind, although he does not expect him to be man-marked. He also pointed out that Juan Cuadrado can exploit the space left behind by the attack-minded Selecao left-back Marcelo.

"Looking at things the other way, some of these Colombian youngsters are going to have a bad day sooner or later. And remember that Colombia have never had to chase the game so far in this World Cup. They've never been behind so they've never really been tested in that way," said Tim, adding that Brazil will look to target 38-year-old centre-back Mario Yepes who is usually protected because Colombia's back four drop deep to mask his lack of pace.

Tim also blamed referee Tim Vickery for not booking Fernandinho against Chile and also for the slight injury that Neymar sustained after being "clattered" in that match.

He also feels that "Brazil have no midfield whatsoever", analysing that area and the reason why Phil Scolari has gone for a long ball approach.

Tim also touched on the psychological problems Brazil's players are suffering from under the weight of expectation on home soil, but also explained that Colombia have often struggled when dealing with euphoria even if that is not as much of an issue this time.

Tim ended the interview by predicting the winner and explained his choice.

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