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WC MOTD Preview: Chile V Spain

By on June 18, 2014

Venue: Estadio Maracana, Rio De Janiero

KO time: 20:00

AND WE’RE BACK TO GROUP B AND MATCHDAY 2! The first round of group matches has been enthralling to say the least, and the added shocks have made it all that more interesting. Now, teams will begin to qualify and we will begin to get an idea of who looks like they can go far in the tournament.

And what a fantastic game we have in store today, with both Spain and Chile having to win this game to stand any chance of qualifying from Group B. Chile have the upper-hand after recording a hard fought victory against a strong willed Australian side in a packed out Arena Pantanal. Their opponents and current World champions, Spain, had a very different experience in their first game of the tournament against Holland in a replay of the 2010 World Cup final; it was a very contrasting result to that day in Johannesburg. This time rank outsiders Holland obliterated Spain 5-1 and outplayed them in every way possible, while the highlight of the match was a fantastic diving head by Robin Van Persie just before half time which leveled the game.

However, Chile will rely heavily on their danger man, Alexis Sanchez, to provide the goals in what should be a highly contested match in the Brazilian capital. Sanchez scored an early goal in La Roja’s last game and also set one up before grabbing the MOTM award in what turned out to be an excellent game for the current Barcelona player. Chile certainly possess an attacking line that could trouble the Spanish defense and after Spain’s conceded five goals in their last game, their defense will not have much faith or confidence in their own abilities which could prove vital in a tight match that could go either way. Although the scoreline suggests Chile had a particularly easy game against the Socceroos on Friday night, they didn’t have it all their own way and their defense lead by Gary Medel was tested numerous times throughout the 90 minutes.  A Tim Cahill header in the 35th minute proved that the Chile defensive line can be broken, although I have believe during todays game the La Roja defense will be hugely more concentrated and tight in a game as important as this. After all if Chile can keep the Spaniards from playing their trademark possession style play (which is a task in itself), and come out of the game with three points they will successfully qualify for the seoncd round of the tournament and dump Spain out of the World Cup – only a freak result in the Australia-Holland game can prevent this from happening should the Chileans win.

You’d have to be a pretty special person to predict what come to unfold on Friday in Salvador – no one in the world expected the scoreline of Holland 5-1 Spain, but why? After all, it is the World Cup and we should always expected the unexpected. Spain could not deal with the Oranje’s overwhelming counter attacking abilities and Holland matched and bettered the Spaniards in every position on the field; they did not give Vicente Del Bosque’s men any time on the ball and successfully closed down any attempt to play the slow ‘tika taka’ football that Del Bosque had prided himself upon since taking the Spain job six years ago. Iker Casillas, Spain’s no.1 and one of the most reliable goalkeepers in world football did not enjoy one of his best nights between the sticks on Friday night, which to some extent is why Spain conceded as many as they did. And the Spanish team performance as a whole was very dissimilar to what you would expect to see from the current World Champions.

Spain will have to be at their very best to beat a Chile side who are looking to better their previous performance in South Africa in which they got eliminated in the Round of 16; they will be hoping the favorable weather conditions and continental advantage will count for something when they play the the holders of the tournament tomorrow.

Will Spain’s tournament effectively be over in less than a week? I suppose we will find out today.

Prediction: Spain 2 Chile 2

About Callum Kenwright

Evertonian. Angler. Oasis. Spanish Football. Aspiring Football Journalist.