BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — With the pressure of an anxious nation bearing down on them with each passing minute, the Brazilian players teetered on the brink of a defeat that would have wounded a country's soul.

巴西贝洛奥里藏特——巴西队每分每秒都承受着这个紧张的国家投来的压力，球队一度濒临失败。而一旦失败，整个国家的灵魂都会蒙受创伤。

Brave Chile was refusing to back down, demonstrating to 57,714 howling fans at Estádio Mineirão and millions more watching at homes, restaurants and bars that they had the nerve to stand up to the mighty host nation through 120 minutes of the most tense and exhilarating soccer seen so far at the 2014 World Cup.

勇敢的智利队拒绝示弱。面对着米内罗体育场(Estádio Mineirão)里57714名嚎叫的球迷，以及在家里、餐馆和酒吧观看比赛的数百万观众，他们证明了自己有勇气对抗强大的东道国。这120分钟是本届世界杯(World Cup)迄今为止最紧张，也最激动人心的比赛。

After 30 minutes, it looked like the most fast-paced, breathtaking game of the tournament. After 90 minutes, the teams were even, at 1-1, after Chile had controlled play through much of the second half, leaving the Brazilian fans nervous and agitated. Through 30 draining minutes of extra time — which included a thunderous Chilean shot that struck the crossbar in the 120th minute, inches from knocking Brazil out — neither team could take a lead.

开场30分钟，这场比赛似乎成了是本届世界杯中节奏最快、最令人惊叹的比赛。比赛踢到90分钟时，两队1比1战平。下半场，智利很多时候都在控球，这让巴西球迷紧张而焦灼。随后30分钟加时赛令双方球员精疲力竭，但双方均未能领先。其中在第120分钟时，智利队的一记射门引来了观众雷鸣般的呼声，但球击中了横梁——智利离打败巴西只有几英寸的距离。

The game, which had been so nerve-racking and exhausting for players and fans alike, went to penalty kicks, where Chile, not regarded as a top-tier team in decades, had a chance to bounce the hosts from the tournament.

于是，这场让球员和球迷同样紧张、疲乏的比赛进入了点球大战。几十年来从未被视为一流球队的智利队，得到了将东道国踢出局的机会。

After nine players had taken penalty kicks and Brazil had a one-goal advantage, Gonzalo Jara, the Chilean defender who deflected Brazil's 18th-minute goal into the net, walked to the spot needing to score to keep his team alive. He struck boldly, as Chile had done all day, but the ball hit the post to the left of goalkeeper Júlio César, bounced back across the mouth of the goal and rolled away to safety.

在九名球员都已罚过点球，且巴西领先一球之时，智利队的防守队员贡萨洛·哈拉(Gonzalo Jara)走向了罚球点。巴西队在第18分钟射门时，球正是撞在哈拉身上发生偏转，才最终入网。此时要想让自己的球队活命，他就必须进球得分。哈拉大胆起脚，就像智利队一整天所做的那样，但球击中了守门员儒利奥·塞萨尔(Júlio César)左手边的球门立柱，弹回到了球门前，又滚到了安全区域。

As Jara put his head in his hands in anguish, the Brazilian fans erupted with deafening shrieks, an equal mix of relief and delight. Across the city and the country, fireworks, car horns and shouts echoed out.

当哈拉痛苦地双手抱头时，巴西球迷发出了震耳欲聋的尖叫声，这尖叫声中即有宽慰，也有喜悦。整座城市乃至整个国家都燃起了烟花，汽车喇叭声和呼喊声四起。

Brazil had advanced, 3-2 on penalty kicks, avoiding the horror of early elimination — but only by the slimmest of margins in a game that would have made for a memorable final.

巴西以点球大战中3比2的成绩晋级，避免了早早被淘汰的恐惧，但巴西只是以极其微弱的优势领先，这场球差一点成为他们耿耿于怀的最后一场比赛。

“We needed this,” said Júlio César, who was named the man of the match. “I just hope that the next games don't go to penalty kicks again because our family members and relatives might have a heart attack.”

“我们需要这场胜利，”被评为本场比赛最佳球员的儒利奥·塞萨尔说，“我只是希望接来下的比赛不要再进入点球阶段，因为我的家人和亲戚可能会心脏病发作。”

Júlio César took much of the blame for Brazil's loss to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup, and many said he should no longer be Brazil's starting goalkeeper. But coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had faith in him, as did the Brazilian players.

在2010年世界杯的四分之一决赛中，巴西输给了荷兰，人们认为主要责任在于儒利奥·塞萨尔，很多人都说他不应该再担任巴西队首发门将。但教练路易斯·菲利佩·斯科拉里(Luiz Felipe Scolari)对他有信心，巴西球员也是如此。

As Júlio César prepared for the penalty kicks, he shed some tears. That might have been a worrying sight for the fans of Brazil, but he made saves on the first two shots: the first from Mauricio Pinilla, the man who hit the crossbar in the 120th minute, and the second from Alexis Sánchez, the exhausted forward who scored Chile's equalizing goal in the 32nd.

儒利奥·塞萨尔在准备点球时流下了眼泪。对于巴西球迷而言，这个情景或许令人担心，但他成功拦下了最初的两次射门：第一次来自第120分钟时击中横梁的莫里西奥·皮尼拉(Mauricio Pinilla)，第二次来自疲惫不堪的前锋阿莱克西斯·桑切斯(Alexis Sánchez)，他在第32分钟为智利打进一球，扳平了比分。

“I was crying because, individually, several teammates came supporting me and saying beautiful and wonderful things, and I couldn't hold it,” Júlio César said. “But I knew I needed to focus on being decisive for my team and my country.”

“我哭是因为几名队友分别过来对我表示支持，对我说了一些动听感人的话，我太激动了，”儒利奥·塞萨尔说。“但我知道我必须为我的球队和我的国家，表现得果断而决绝。”

He was, and so Brazil moved on to the quarterfinals to play Colombia, which defeated Uruguay, 2-0, in a Round of 16 game in Rio de Janeiro. Scolari spoke to his players after the game and warned them that they needed to do better in their next game, to play with more confidence and aggression.

他做到了。所以巴西得以跻身四分之一决赛，对阵哥伦比亚。后者在这一轮有16支球队对阵的比赛中，以2比0的比分在里约热内卢击败了乌拉圭，跻身八强。斯科拉里在赛后与球员谈话，提醒他们下一场比赛中要拿出更好的表现，要更自信、更有冲劲。

Brazil, he fears, is taking the role of host too literally.

他担心，巴西真的在以东道主待客的态度踢球。

“We are being very cordial and nice and polite to foreign teams,” he said. “It's about time for us to change, to show we won't be hit by stones from coaches and players and foreign journalists. It's about time we defend ourselves differently.”

“我们对外国球队非常热情、友善和礼貌，”他说。“现在我们应该做出一些改变，不能让教练、队员和外国记者抨击我们。现在该换一种方式保卫自己了。”

Clearly, the Chileans had put a scare in him. But after the narrow defeat, it was time for them to go home.

很明显，智利人把他吓到了。但是经过惊险的比赛，落败的智利队到了回家的时候。

Chile had emerged as one of the most dynamic teams in this tournament, representative of the ascendancy of many of the Spanish-speaking countries from the Western Hemisphere, including Colombia and Costa Rica.

智利是本次比赛中最具活力的队伍之一，也是众多西半球西语国家突出球队的一个代表，这些国家还包括哥伦比亚和哥斯达黎加等。

It did not have an easy road through the group stage, either, beating Spain, the defending champion, and playing the Netherlands close in a loss. And on Saturday, the Chileans were able to put a scare into Brazil in front of a sea of yellow jerseys. Chile's coach, Jorge Sampaoli, said Friday that the key to the game would be courage, and his players did not let him down.

在小组赛阶段，智利队的道路并不轻松。它打败了卫冕冠军西班牙，在对阵荷兰队时毫不懈怠，但还是输掉了比赛。周六，智利人尽管面对一片黄色球服的海洋，但还是让巴西队胆战心惊。智利队教练豪尔赫·桑保利(Jorge Sampaoli)周五表示，比赛的关键在勇气，他的球员没让他失望。

“Even if we didn't win today, I think that Chile can feel very proud and very thankful for what this national team has given,” he said. “They have defended our colors with pride and with bravery.”

“尽管我们今天没有取胜，我认为智利队也会对这次国家队的经历感到非常骄傲，并充满感激，”他说。“他们以自豪和勇气捍卫了智利的荣誉。”