Chile suspended a training session in Belo Horizonte briefly when a Brazilian news helicopter flew over the team’s base on Thursday, as they prepared for Saturday’s last-16 game against the hosts.

The team’s communications director, Héctor Olave, said he asked the O Globo station not to broadcast any of the images, so Chile’s tactics wouldn’t be revealed.

Olave said the TV station later apologised and that Jorge Sampaoli, the Chile coach, was the most worried “because he was working on tactics and he didn’t want them to know how he plans to approach the match”.

The defender Mauricio Isla said the players took aim at the intruding helicopter: “We tried to hit it with the ball, but we couldn’t.”