World Cup 2014 Round of 16 Open Thread: Day 1

The Round of 16 kicks off today with the South American corner of the 2014 World Cup bracket playing. Thanks to a fluke of qualifying, four of the five remaining South American teams are all playing each other today, including the host nation, Brazil.

This is your all-purpose World Cup open thread. Drop in to make some predictions, talk about the games, or anything else World Cup related.

Today's Games

Brazil vs. Chile

Watch it on: ABC

Kick off: 9:00 AM PT at Estadio Minerao in Belo Horizonte

Brazil take on Chile in what will be, with regards to Mexico, the hardest test that the home Brazilian side will have faced this tournament. For Chile, they will be facing a motivated Brazil team that will likely be missing superstar Neymar thanks to a hamstring injury picked up in practice. Although Brazil is still a favorite to win, this match has some serious upset potential as Chile bossed their group before being run over by Holland's offensive juggernaut.

Colombia vs. Uruguay

Watch it on: ABC

Kick off: 1:00 PM PT at Estadio de Maracana in Rio De Janeiro

The other South American match up sees two of the continent's powers slug it out. The most notable thing about this match-up, however, has to be the impending absence of Luis Suarez. Suspended for Uruguay's next nine matches, barring some sort of mediation or divine intervention, for his bite on Italy's Giorgio Chiellini. Uruguay retains plenty of firepower without Suarez, but his absence has to tip the balances toward Colombia for this one.