Chile Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup
Chile – The country, the football
The Chilean territory also covers nearby islands such as Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island; therefore, the country’s net area is said to be around 756,950 km2, containing about 16,928,870 people. Just like the Spanish national football team, the Chilean national side is called “La Roja”, which means “The Red One” in English. Chile have not been performing so well in the FIFA World Cup, having been unsuccessful to participate in the tournament in 2002 and 2006.
Nevertheless, the 4-time runners-up of the Copa America have their name added to list of the 32 qualified teams in the competition set to take place in South Africa during the summer of 2010; and an attainment as precious as this one thus conveys something very promising for La Roja.
Chile – The road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals
October 13 (2007) marked the first match of the Chileans in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Being placed on the South American continent, Chile had to follow the regulations of CONMEBOL. The rules of the South American zone consisted of 10 countries fighting for 4 automatic places into the World Cup finals, while the fifth-placed team was set to meet the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF in a two-legged play-off.
So, as 18 rounds were arranged for their 2010 World Cup qualification, Chile started their campaign with a game away to the Estadio Antonio V. Liberti in Buenos Aires against Argentina, but sadly, a double from Argentina’s Riquelme submitted the Chileans to a 2-0 defeat against Los Albicelestes.
That score line was exchanged in Round 2 in favor of La Roja, as Chile won 2-0 over Peru, following two goals from Suazo and Fernández. In spite of that, the Chileans showed remarkable struggle against an imposing Uruguayan side on November 18, 2007 in Montevideo, and Chile could only get a 2-2 draw in the end.
The worst thing for La Roja happened in Round 4, when they hosted Paraguay at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago. There, an opener from Cabañas, followed by a double from da Silva sank the Chileans 3-0 in their own home.
Two goals from Medel later on in Round 5 helped Chile get back on track with a 2-0 victory over Bolivia; before, Suazo and Jara also gave their contribution to give their country a 3-2 triumph over Venezuela in Round 6.
Brazil obviously proved to be unmatchable for the Chileans in Round 7, as the 5-time world champions destroyed their opponents 3-0 in Santiago on September 7, 2008. The 3 goals scored by Brazil were shared among key players Luís Fabiano, and Robinho.
A 4-0 winning result was then the evidence of a superb recovery from Chile in Round 8, as they earned 3 additional points in their game against Colombia to facilitate their way through the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
On October 12, 2008 Ecuador defeated Chile by a goal to nil in Quito, but that loss was easily forgotten by the losing side, who managed to beat Argentina 1-0 in Round 10, at the Estadio Nacional. Sánchez and Fernández then got two goals each in Chile’s 3 consecutive matches, which included a 3-1 away win over Peru, a goalless home draw against Uruguay, and a 2-0 away victory over Paraguay.
Chile’s satisfying form was intensified in Round 14, when they destroyed Bolivia 4-0 in Santiago, with goals coming from Beausejour, Estrada, and Sánchez (double).
In Round 15, La Roja and Venezuela settled for a 2-2 draw, prior to the Chileans’ 4-2 defeat to Brazil away to the Estádio de Pituaçu, in Salvador. Nevertheless, Chile bounced back with a 4-2 win against Colombia on the 10th of October 2009 in Medellin; and four days later, La Roja completed their run in their World Cup qualification with a narrow 1-0 victory over Ecuador.
Overall, Chile qualified in second place with 33 points – either a single point behind leaders Brazil; but they had much to be proud of, as they ended up 5 points above lucky participants Argentina.
Chile – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stage
An encouraging position in the FIFA World Ranking in October 2009 granted La Roja a place in Pot 3 ahead of the final draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. Afterward, the draw which was staged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre saw Chile arrive in Group H, which contained European champions Spain, as well as Switzerland, and Honduras.
Group H is surely not a group one would want to mess with, but Chile are certainly poised to come up and show the world how powerful they can be.
Match-day 1: Honduras vs Chile
On the 16th of June 2010, Honduras will play as the home side against Chile at the Mbombela Stadium. This game is scheduled to take place at 13:30 local time in Nelspruit.
Honduras are now bettering their name in football by getting more and more positive and surprising results in their continent, and their qualification in this World Cup edition came as a shock to almost every football fan.
La H are definitely a capricious side on which the Chileans will need to keep their eyes on.
Match-day 2: Chile vs Switzerland
Chile will welcome Switzerland at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, on June 21, at 16:00 local time.
Switzerland escaped the play-offs during their qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals, despite being put against potent sides among which lied Greece. The Swiss are strong enough to prevent upsets, and looking at their international friendly matches in recent years, they do not seem to have a problem when it comes to coping with very different sides.
Chile could therefore face trouble here, but at least, their men are well-equipped enough to fight the danger.
Match-day 3: Chile vs Spain
Chile will finally play against Spain at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, on June 25, at 20:30 local time.
Spain are the current European champions, and hot favorites at the 2010 World Cup. Their side is made of stars, and their coach possesses the level of experience required to humble any country on earth.
Well, the Spanish national team is indeed an amazing one, but Chile do not have so many reasons to panic ahead of this clash. In fact, Chile successfully imposed theirselves over Argentina in a return leg encounter during their qualification for this World Cup tournament, and if they were capable of silencing big aces such as Lionel Messi and Mascherano, then they could well make Spain their next target.
Such a huge task obviously demands a lot of belief, but with a high amount of determination and no mistakes, the Chileans could at least get a reasonable score line at the end of the day.
Chile – Quick Analysis: Expectations from the country and its top stars
Chile look quite ready to step on football’s highest stage, and although their foundation do not lie on great football stars, they have the option of utilizing their players who were instrumental during their qualification for the finals, to make impact in the tournament.
Humberto Suazo:
The talented Chilean striker carries the name of the 2006 World’s Top Scorer. He surpassed England’s Peter Crouch by a single goal to take this award that year, and he also took home the Silver Football award, which is given to the world’s second first league top scorer. Suazo is a real ace in the Chile national football team, and his services were truly beneficial to his country during the World Cup qualifiers.
Matías Fernández:
The Chilean attacking midfielder is the 2006 South American Footballer of the Year. He made his entry in the Chile national football team back in 2005, and he currently has about 35 appearances for his country. Fernandez was brilliant during Chile’s run in the South American World Cup qualifiers, and his likely to shine in South Africa this summer.
Chile – Current 2010 FIFA World Cup squad
Goalkeepers:
Luis Marin; Miguel Pinto; Claudio Bravo
Defenders:
Ismael Fuentes; Pablo Contreras; Arturo Vidal; Mauricio Isla; Gary Medel; Gonzalo Jara; Waldo Ponce
Midfielders:
Rodrigo Tello; Gonzalo Fierro; Matias Fernandez; Jorge Valdivia; Rodrigo Millar; Carlos Carmona; Marco Estrada
Forwards:
Jean Beausejour; Esteban Paredes; Fabian Orellana; Mark Gonzalez; Alexis Sanchez; Humberto Suazo
Chile – Relevant Quote
The president of the Chilean Football Association Harold Mayne-Nicholls has expressed that Chile had chances of finishing in second spot in Group H. He noted that the team had the players, the willingness, as well as the coaching staff to succeed at the 2010 World Cup, but said that everything will depend on what happens in the tournament.
“In my opinion, the group is fair. The three teams with us have all beating us recently, and we’ll just need to be patient to know if we can take our lessons and do better next time around.”
“Spain are one of the best sides in the world for sure, but Honduras and Switzerland can also go through (the knockout phase). We all have opportunities to progress to the next round, and for me, we should not be complaining about the teams we received in our group. Things could have been better for us, but they could have been worse too.”
Chile – FIFA World Cup record
In all, Chile have qualified 8 times for the FIFA World Cup tournament, and below is their record the history of their national football team.
2010: Qualified as participants
1998: Round 2
1982, 1974, 1966, 1950, 1930: Round 1
1962: Third Place
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