Looking to avenge the result of the 1950 World Cup when it hosted the tournament and lost in the final, Brazil has been handed a difficult route to the promise land in 2014. wholesale nfl jerseys . After being pushed all the way to penalties in the round of 16 by a stout Chilean team, Brazil must now face a Colombia side that has emerged as one of the front-runners to win the competition. Listen to Brazil vs. Colombia LIVE today at 4pm et/1pm pt on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto, TSN 690 Montreal, TSN 1200 Ottawa and TEAM Vancouver 1410. While Brazil has the star power of Neymar, David Luiz and Oscar, Jose Pekerman is hoping that Colombias team-first approach can carry the nation to the semifinals, where it would face either France or Germany. "Sometimes a team with a lot of potential, if they dont find the result and they need to win, they cant play so brilliantly," Pekerman said of Brazil after beating Uruguay in the round of 16. "So the competition becomes interesting because a team with less individual stars can disturb the balance of the other team." Of course, Colombia is not void of stars itself. James Rodriguez has been the toast of the tournament thus far, producing stunning bits of play and coming up with five goals to sit atop the race for the Golden Boot. Brazil, though, has not hit its top gear just yet, and the host nation is looking forward to Fridays continental battle. "Theres no doubt that being continental rivals has a huge impact," Brazil defender Dani Alves told FIFAs official website. "Emotionally, theyre very tough games, because unlike European nations, we come up against each other all the time - in the Copa America, in World Cup qualifying. "In technical terms too, its a different style of football, though that side of things is changing. Football has evolved a lot and nearly all the best South American players are in Europe. Thats made the national teams here get even better and stronger. The games are still intense, with that South American flavor, but with more players used to always playing at the very highest level." The Brazilians see themselves as a team of destiny, and while many of the teams supporters are disappointed in the lack of beautiful football on display, Neymar has stressed that advancing beyond each round is whats truly important. "You cant always enjoy yourself and win 4-0 or 5-0," the Barcelona forward said in a press conference. "Football nowadays is so difficult, so even, that the team who is most committed on the pitch ends up winning. I dont want a show. Thats the last thing we are trying to do. We are not necessarily here to produce a spectacle. We are here to run to the end, until we are tired, and come out as winners. "I would be happy to do nothing in this game if Brazil won 1-0. That would be marvelous." cheap jerseys from china . 8 exhibition game marking the leaders birthday. Rodman said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kims uncle in a dramatic political purge. Rodmans visit comes less than a week after North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an unprecedented fall from grace for one of the most powerful figures in the country. jerseys from china . The Kings were beaten on a goal by Logan Couture after the Sharks played the entire 89 seconds of overtime on the power play. The Kings were received penalties for both hooking and goaltender interference in the final minute of regulation play. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Shin-Soo Choo is already having a positive influence at the top of the Texas Rangers lineup. Adrian Beltre has been clutch for them since 2011. For the second night in a row, they played big in a winning ninth-inning rally. Choo drew a bases-loaded, game-ending walk against Jonathan Papelbon as the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Wednesday to clinch the season-opening series. "Its really special for us," said Choo, who signed a seven-year free-agent deal with the Rangers this winter. "Thats why you play nine innings, and thats what we do every night is play nine innings," manager Ron Washington said. "In the end, we did what we had to do. We got focused and put some good at-bats together and made things happen." Beltre, whose ninth-inning single Tuesday night drove home Choo with the winning run, started this three-run rally with a leadoff single. After Mitch Morelands double, pinch-hitter Jim Adduci had an RBI infield single and Leonys Martin singled home the tying run. Donnie Murphy walked on four pitches before Choo got to full-count pitch before walking. Adduci reached on a slow roller down the third-base line with one out before Martin grounded a single through the drawn-in infield. "The whole inning was kind of just one of those innings. You get a cue ball down the third base line. Then you get a double-play ball, which you think is the game-ending double play. Its not," said Papelbon, who gave up four hits and two walks while retiring only on batter. "My whole focus was get a ground ball, get a double play and get us out of the inning." Seth Rosin (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first major league victory. Moreland had a triple in the seventh and scored on Martins two-out single. "Its a nice way to start the season," Moreland said. "We really came together these last couple of games. cheap jerseys. " Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer and Kyle Kendrick allowed only one run over seven innings for the Phillies, who still havent won a road series since Ryne Sandberg took over as their manager last August -- first on an interim bases before getting the full-time gig. The Phillies lost 24 of 32 games over their final 10 road series last season. They split four games against the New York Mets last August in Sandbergs first series on the road -- but had dropped the previous five series away from home, and then lost the last four. They won this years season opener 14-10 before consecutive ninth-inning losses. Texas left-hander Robbie Ross struck out seven over five innings in his first major league start after 123 relief appearances the past two seasons. He allowed three runs and seven hits with two walks. Howards homer made it 3-0 in the third. It was his first homer since July 5, when he went deep in his final game last season before going onto the disabled list because of left knee inflammation. After Philly got an unearned run in the first after centre fielder Martin bobbled the ball for an error, Texas failed to score in the bottom of the inning after two hits and two errors by the Phillies. Choo got caught in a rundown and tagged out between third base and home after Kendrick initially dropped a grounder. NOTES: The Phillies were a player short after SS Jimmy Rollins returned home to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. ... Texas said ace RHP Yu Darvish will make his season debut Sunday at Tampa Bay. He was put on the disabled list because of neck stiffness. ... Rangers INF Adam Rosales cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. ... Both teams are off Thursday before road games Friday. The Phillies play the Chicago Cubs for the opener marking the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field, and the Rangers are at Tampa Bay. cheap jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
