Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes the lack of bad blood between his side and Colombia will allow for an attractive spectacle when the two sides clash in their World Cup quarter-final on Friday.
Scolari’s men needed penalties after a bruising 120 minutes to overcome Chile in the last 16 which left many of the Brazil squad in tears at the end of the match.
However, the 65-year-old is hoping a less frenetic encounter will allow his players to show their talent in Fortaleza.
“Colombia is a more technical team than Chile,” said Scolari.
“Chile have more strength and play with a spirit which makes the game dynamics very different. The rivalry with Colombia is not the same as with Chile, Argentina or Uruguay.
“It was much more difficult against Chile. Colombia are also a great team with some great players, but when we don’t have these rivalries our players feel more at ease.”
Brazil captain Thiago Silva echoed his coach’s words and welcomed the challenge of stopping Colombia’s free-scoring attack that has netted 11 times in four games.
“For me what is good is a team that comes to play against us and technically Colombia is different in that sense. They have the skills of wanting to play which helps our team,” said the Paris Saint-Germain defender yesterday.
