Brazil have recent history on their side as they take on Chile on Friday, with a place in the Copa America semi-finals up for grabs.
The tournament hosts – and defending champions – won their opening three fixtures before a second-string team drew 1-1 with Ecuador last time out.
Their place at the top of Group B pitted them against Chile, who finished fourth in Group A.
Champions in 2015 and 2016, Chile won only one game in the group stage, beating Bolivia 1-0. They recorded two draws either side of that victory before a disappointing 2-0 reverse to Paraguay.
Tite s team have won their previous four Copa America clashes with Chile, and what would appear an easier passage to the final awaits them should they extend that run in Rio de Janeiro.
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Edwin van der Sar says he and Marc Overmars are not ready yet to leave their roles at Ajax and believe they can help take the club to the next level.
Van der Sar has been Ajax s chief executive since 2016, while Overmars took on the role of director of football in 2012.
The Dutch giants have claimed two Eredivisie titles and two KNVB Cup triumphs in the five years since the former goalkeeper was appointed, also appearing in a Champions League semi-final.
However, the 51-year-old claimed he is not satisfied with his achievements at the club he started his professional career with, as he expressed his desire to achieve even more success.
I think Marc and myself are enjoying it very much here at Ajax, Van der Sar told Stats Perform. The freedom and rewa…
A Liverpool defence marshalled by freshly crowned PFA Players Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk has proved a miserly proposition for all opponents this season.
The challenge helmed by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the Barcelona forward line might be their most significant yet in Wednesday s mouthwatering semi-final first leg at Camp Nou.
If Barca do find the breakthrough, it will be a landmark moment.
Four-time winners during the Champions League era, the Blaugrana are currently on 499 goals in the competition.
With many more surely still to come, here are some of their very best.
Rivaldo v Manchester United, 1998
United and Barca have shared many memorable Champions League tussles and, on the ground where A…
Borussia Dortmund boss Marco Rose has welcomed Gareth Southgate s decision to leave Jude Bellingham out of England s latest squad.
Teenage midfielder Bellingham was a surprise omission from Southgate s 23-man group on Thursday after impressing for Dortmund in his second campaign at the club.
Southgate explained he left out the 18-year-old due to fears of burnout, with Manchester United s Mason Greenwood overlooked for the same reason.
Bellingham s 802 minutes of playing time this term is the most of any England-qualified player in Europe s top five leagues when taking all competitions into account.
Since making his Dortmund debut on September 14 last year, the Birmingham City academy product has played 56 matches, 43 of those coming from the start.
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Louis van Gaal is worried about Georginio Wijnaldum s lack of playing time with Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the Netherlands next batch of World Cup qualifiers.
The 30-year-old joined the Ligue 1 giants on a free transfer in June after failing to agree a new contract with Liverpool, where he had spent the previous five seasons.
Having been a regular under Mauricio Pochettino at the start of the season, Wijnaldum has since lost his place in the side to Idrissa Gueye.
He has started just half of PSG s 12 matches since arriving and has featured a further five times from the substitutes bench.
Wijnaldum s tally of 502 minutes is only the 12th most among PSG players in all competitions this term, with Gueye and Ander Herrera featuring more frequently in midfie…
Jesse Marsch vowed his Leeds United side will fight for our lives after dropping into the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday.
Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier gifted Eddie Nketiah an early opener, and the Arsenal striker, who spent 2019-20 on loan at Elland Road, added a second with just 10 minutes played.
The visitors inflicted more damage on themselves after 27 minutes when Luke Ayling, making the 500th appearance of his career, was sent off for lunging in on Gabriel Martinelli.
Diego Llorente did manage to pull one back through Leeds first effort on target in the 66th minute, but they were ultimately left with too much to do.
A second loss in a row for Leeds, coupled with Everton s 2-1 win at Leicester City, means they wi…
Gareth Southgate believes the fight against racism in football may have reached a defining moment as the fall-out from the abuse levelled against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior in Valencia last weekend continues.
The England boss has led calls for stricter punishment since his side came close to walking off the field after some players were subjected to racial abuse during a match in Bulgaria in 2019.
Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
In response, Valencia were given a partial stadium ban for five…
Erik ten Hag has hinted that Harry Maguire may leave Manchester United this summer if the defender decides he is not happy with a lack of playing time.
The club captain played only 16 Premier League games this season and has been culpable of a number of high-profile errors, most recently in last month’s Europa League exit to Sevilla.
Ten Hag has consistently praised the influence of the 30-year-old – who joined in 2018 from Leicester for £80million, a world-record fee for a defender, and is under contract until 2025 – around Old Trafford, even when he has endured long spells out of the team.
When fit, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been the preferred central-defensive partnership in the former Ajax boss’s first campaign, with Luke Shaw sometim…
Casemiro said the qualities of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric made it easy to star in Real Madrid s midfield ahead of his move to Manchester United, as he backed Los Blancos to replace him from within.
The Brazil international is joining United in a deal reportedly worth an initial £60million (€70m), having won an incredible 18 trophies during a nine-year spell with Madrid.
Casemiro lifted the Champions League on five occasions during his time in the Spanish capital, and produced a masterful performance as Carlo Ancelotti s team clinched their 14th European crown against Liverpool in May.
Modric, Kroos and Casemiro have been key throughout one of the most successful spells in Madrid s history, starting together in four Champions League finals (in 2016, 2017, 201…
Bruno Fernandes became the first Portuguese player to score 10 goals in a Premier League season since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008-09, but it was not enough to seal a win for Manchester United at Leicester City.
Fernandes, who teed up Marcus Rashford s opener at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day, thought he had secured the points for United when he struck home after latching onto Edinson Cavani s pass with 11 minutes remaining.
It took Fernandes onto double figures in league goals for the season.
That made him the first player from Portugal to score 10 or more in a single campaign in England s top-flight since former United star Ronaldo did so in 2008-09, when the winger netted 18 times.
Fernandes has had a direct hand in over half of United s Premier …