Chile at the World Cup

Chile

 

Manager: Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina)

Captain: Claudio Bravo

FIFA World Ranking: 21

World Cup Appearances: 8

Best World Cup: Third Place – 1962

 

 

 

Profile:

 

Chile have a pretty formidable record when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup proper, this set to be their ninth appearance in a World Cup, but they’ve often failed to make any sort of impression in the crunch games when they’ve actually gotten to the finals itself, with their best result in a World Cup being their third place finish back in 1962. That is just one of two rare occasions where Chile have actually managed to bypass the group stage in a World Cup, with the other being a second round exit back in 1998.

 

Chile have fallen off the radar in recent times, with Chile previously failing to qualify for the previous two World Cups. This will be their first appearance in a World Cup since the 1998 finals in France, where Chile could only reach the second round. They don’t have the strongest of squads, with recognisable faces at a premium. However, they will be hoping their Chilean flair, aided by their Argentinian manager, will get them further in the competition than any of the most recent attempts.

 

 

Manager:

 

Marcelo Bielsa could become a controversial character if Chile to come up against Argentina in the finals. Bielsa is Argentina through-and-through after not only spending his short playing career in Argentina but Marcelo Bielsa has had a lengthy stint as manager of the Argentine national team, leading his country to the finals of the 2004 Cope America, losing the in the final. But his biggest achievement to date, in his managerial career, was guiding Argentina to Olympic Gold at the 2004 Olympics in Greece. He, and Argentina, became the first Latin side to win an Olympic gold medal for football since 1928, although Marcelo Dielsa didn’t capitalise on his success as Argentina manager as he resigned later that year.

 

Marcelo Bielsa has already annoyed the natives when he master planned Chile’s 1-0 win over Argentina early this year. That victory left Argentina in a difficult predicament and his attacking mindset has earned him many plaudits with the Chilean press.

 

 

Key Players:

 

Humberto Suazo –

 

Plying his trade in Mexico with Monterrey, Humberto Suazo has become an integral part of the Chilean set up, with his name now somewhat of a formality on the Chilean team sheet. With 17 goals in 39 appearances at country level, 10 of those coming in qualifying, Suazo is one of the inform strikers in South America right now. He, alongside the youthful presence of Alexis Sanchez, look to be a pretty lethal duo up front for Chile. However, will Suazo perform at the biggest stage as this will be his first ever appearance in a World Cup.

 

Suazo ended qualifying as South America’s top goalscorer with 10 goals in 18 qualifiers. He particularly impressed during the campaign and will certainly be one to watch during the forthcoming summer.

 

 

Alexis Sanchez –

 

Mentioned above, Alexis Sanchez, is one of the up-and-coming stars of Chilean football and a lot of fans will have high hopes from the Udinese wonder-kid. He hasn’t been as prolific as some may have hoped in qualifying, scoring just three goals in 11 qualifiers. However, we mustn’t forget that he still has youth on his side at just 20 years-of-age and this could be the perfect setting where Sanchez becomes of age and shows the rest of the world what potential the Udinese forward has. He is known as the ‘wonderboy’ back home and has been named in the top 50 of the most exciting teenagers in the game. However, with all the expectations pinned on a still young man, will he handle the added pressure and deliver for his country?

 

 

 

Strengths:

 

Chile main source of success throughout the course of the finals will come from their attacking play. Humberto Suazo is their more talented striker on show and he finished a country mile above anyone else with 10 goals in qualifying, six more than Matias Fernandez, an upcoming young midfidler, while Alexis Sanchez is still finding his footing at this level after he scored just three three qualifying goals. One factor certainly on their side is youth, although that leaves them short on experience. Marcelo Bielsa has opted for youth and exuberance ahead of the finals, with more than half-a-dozen expected to be around the 23 year old mark come next summer. The manager obviously expects their raw potential to come good at some stage but it could be asking too much for them to shine on the biggest of stages.

 

The Chilean’s were prolific in attack during qualifying, scoring 32 goals in their 18 outings in qualifying. Only Brazil could better that feat by a single goal.

 

 

Weakness:

 

Their defence isn’t one of their strongest areas and against quality opposition, they could be found wanting. The Chilean defence shipped 22 goals in 18 qualifiers, the worst defensive record out of all the eventual qualifiers. Brazil were the stand out team in qualifying and they scored seven against them in two games. They do tend to defend a lot better when playing at home but doing that on another continent looks a very big ask. Also, their goalkeepers are still pretty young. Their first choice is Miguel Pinto, a 26 year old, while the likely back ups are no older than 21 years old. The bigger nations tend to opt for experience in goal and there maybe doubts over not only their back four but also their shot stopper.

 

 

Qualification:

 

Sector: South America

Current Position: 2nd

Win-Draw-Lose: 32-22

Goals Scored: 32

Goals Conceded: 22

 

 

 

Qualifying Statistics:

 

 

• Chile score a total of 32 goals in 18 qualifiers, the second best offensive record in the South American qualifying zone.

• The Chileans boast the worst defensive record out of the four automatic qualifying nations from South America, conceding 22 goals in 18 games.

• Humberto Suazo finished as South America’s deadliest striker, scoring 10 goals in 18 appearances during qualifying.

• Chile received the most amount of penalties during qualifying, make of that what you will, with referees handing them four penalties.

 

 

 

World Cup Potential: 3/5

 

The Chileans will be a dangerous outfit and a nation most of the big guns will want to avoid if they can. They look extremely deadly on the break, with an on song Humberto Suazo being their biggest goal threat, but their defence could be their downfall as they do leave plenty of gaps when they do stride forward. If they could resolve their defensive issues then Chile could at least bypass the groups but we aren’t too sure if they could progress much further. A decent enough draw could see them make some inroads, though .

 

 

Current World Cup Odds: 50/1 – Bet365

 

World Cup Group H - Table

Rank	Team	Matches / Points
	Spain	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Switzerland	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Honduras	0 Matches / 0 Points
	Chile	0 Matches / 0 Points

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