"My teammates are giving me a lot of strength so I can get on the field and give my best," Cesar said. "There are only three steps left and I still want to be back here to give another interview, with Brazil partying."
Cesar stopped the first two shots by Chile in the shootout, staying near the middle of the goal to block Mauricio's Pinilla's attempt, then diving to his right to deflect Alexis Sanchez's strike.
"I just kept my focus, that's all I had to do," Cesar said. On the final penalty, Cesar dived to his left and just watched as Gonzalo Jara's shot struck the post and rebounded away.Fans who had been loudly chanting his name exploded into cheers as the ball finally went wide. Players rushed across the field toward Cesar, who stood there waiting with his arms wide open.
"It was hard, it was with heart, with tears and with saves by Julio Cesar," Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff posted on Twitter. "We won!"
Cesar had already made a crucial save that prevented Chile from taking the lead in the 65th minute. After Charles Aranguiz's close-range shot, Cesar showed his reflexes to push the ball wide with his left hand.
While it was Neymar who took the penalty that gave Brazil a 3-2 lead in the shootout, he knew where most of the praise should go after the narrow victory.
"Cesar deserves all the credit today," the star striker said.
