The Manchester City midfielder has been preferred over Tottenham’s Paulinho for the first game of the knock-out stages of this World Cup.
Fernandinho impressed with his creativity and finishing in Brazil’s 4-1 victory against Cameroon, prompting Luiz Felipe Scolari to replace Paulinho who was unconvincing in the group stage.
The former Atlético Paranaense player completed 85% of his passes, compared to Paulinho’s 75%, and was much more productive in the attacking third of the pitch.
Scolari is hoping that Fernandinho’s dynamism will cause Chile problems in the centre.
