Chile |
2 - 2
This match has ended. Upcoming related matches:
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Venezuela |
Chile currently seat second in the ten-team qualification group with only one point behind the leaders Brazil. Meanwhile, the Venezuelans are third from bottom with 17 points like Colombia and only three points off Ecuador who presently occupy the play-off zone.
Chile have seriously bounced back from their poor performance in the 2007 Copa America tournament. They’ve stunned the likes of Argentina, Uruguay, or even Paraguay in the World Cup qualifiers by recording more wins than any other team in the table – eight victories in fourteen matches actually.
Chile’s recent form remains strong. After inflicting misery on Bolivia in the South American World Cup qualifiers with a 4-0 home win, the Chileans defeated Denmark 2-1 in a friendly match earlier in August.
This result certainly reveals a lot as regards to Chile’s current performance at the international level. To beat Denmark (who lead Group A in the European World Cup qualifying zone) in a warm-up game ahead of the qualifiers is certainly meaningful.
The South American qualifying table is very much congested in the middle. Only three points separate Venezuela (in eighth place) from Ecuador (in fifth place). The race for a ticket to the finals of the World Cup in South Africa is well alive and is still full of excitement and uncertainty.
As at now, the Venezuelans may aim to take hold of the play-off zone at least. Only a fifth place finish can give them a last chance against the fourth placed team of the CONCACAF zone to qualify for South Africa 2010.
But now, the focus remains on September’s pair of qualification matches. With four more games left before Venezuela’s world cup qualification campaign comes to an end, the hopes are very much alive.
However, Venezuela will need to better themselves from inconsistency after experiencing mixed results in their last matches.
Positively for the Venezuelans, they won their most recent friendly match against Colombia 2-1 to boost their spirits ahead of September’s qualifiers.
Still, Venezuela’s weakest point is in defense. The country holds the third worst ‘goals allowed’ record with 24 goals conceded in 14 qualifiers.
In contrast, their upcoming opponents, Chile, have scored 23 times in their qualification campaign. Chile have also conceded 10 goals less than the Venezuelans.
On paper, Chile are tipped as favorites to win this encounter. However, Venezuela will try to avoid bowing down to La Roja before their hopes of reaching the finals of the world cup in South Africa get tarnished.