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FIFA World Cup 2010 - Chile vs Honduras - Report

Matias Vulej, June 16 2010,
Suffering more than expected, Chile managed to claim the top of its group and Spain will have a lot of work to do to get it off from Bielsa's greedy hands.
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Related Articles: FIFA World Cup, Chile, Honduras, Group H
Calm, cool and collected looked Bielsa upon his team's victory. "Our goal is to get through to the next stage and not to break any records" he said. This triumph was the first Chilean one in almost 50 years, and it was made clear some signs of rennaissance are taking place in the squad. Jean Beausejour showed he can be a solid alternative in the last meters, making his weight in Honduras' area count. 
 
 

Clear view from the top

 Many international stars are shinning forth in the Chilean squad. Alexis Sanchez might have not played its best match for the Roja, but surely was determinant to find open spaces in the Central American defense. Matias Fernandez assumed the creative role in the midfield and clearly lived up to the expectations, for from his feet and wits to find Mauricio Isla came the only goal of the match, thanks to a perfectly placed aerial ball over Beausejour head. From the right side came most of Chile's attempts to break Honduras' defense, with Alexis Sanchez as jack-of-all-trades, interacting with both the midfielders and the offensive trident. 
 
Two problems could be seen on Marcelo Bielsa's strategy. The first came from Humberto Suazo's absence, Chile's top striker with 17 goals in 41 matches. The victory could have been much loose given the presence of Chupete. But he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day, and the last match of the group against Spain might allow Suazo to show his expertise on the fields, if fully recovered.
 
The second was the insecurity of the back line: Only thanks to Carlos Carmona and Rodrigo Millar's endless runs from the bands could Bielsa's squad keep their goal shut, but the rest of the rivals of the group might not be as merciful as the Honduran. The goal during the first half injected Chile's players with the energy needed to secure the result, but nothing seemed to work. Nevertheless the three points and the top of the group belong to the South Americans, and there's nothing to do about it. Bielsa explained to the press the reason of Suazo's absence "He's been a long time unable to train at his best and this kind of matches call for a full sacrifice.  

Come rain or come shine

 The future looks rather clouded for the Central American squad, as the Spanish defeat forces Honduras to win every single match to have only slight mathematical chances of advancing to the next stage. In the offense the team could hardly pose a threat to the Chilean goalkeeper, and the players looked more determined to stop Chile from creating offensive opportunities than to go for the game. The deep connection that supposedly united Honduras' strategy (It's the first National Team in the history to perform with three brothers, Wilson, Johnny and Jerry Palacios) was a mistery for the audience, who got tired of seeing Chile dominate the game (63% ball possession for Marcelo Bielsa's squad)
 
Edgar Álvarez was the most dangerous player in Honduras, and almost gave his team a penalty kick at the beginning of the second half, when he fully exploited a defensive error of their rivals. The team was lacking confidence, and it could be seen on every attempt to drive the ball towards Chilean goal.
 
Team's coach Alexis Mendoza declared "Our mentality is strong. Two games are missing: difficult rivals, but not impossible" and they might go all in to take advantage of this wounded Spain. If Carlo Costli and Julio Cesar de Leon makes it for the next match, then Honduras might have the chance to surprise everyone and climb to the second position of the group. This group has already given us some surprises, so we must be ready for anything can happen during the next days.

 

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