Fear Chile, Not Chili’s

World Cup is starting in  less than a week and many fans are betting each other about which teams will survive from their groups and go far in the bracket. Everyone is already thinking of teams that will win the World Cup; typically, they would list Brazil, Germany, and Spain as few options. It’s hard to believe that World Cup is coming close and group games are about to start in matter of time.

For many people, they already know teams such as Brazil and Germany are already guaranteed to go far because they are just too good. This is what many fans think when they review Group B which consists of Chile, Spain, Netherlands, and Australia; Spain and Netherlands will advance to 2nd round. However, that’s a misconception. I would say that Chile is going to put a tough fight and is not going to let Spain and Netherlands easily into 2nd round and perhaps steal the spot away from Netherlands.

Many fan will definitely ask why Chile? What does Chile have that they can hold La Furia Roja and Oranje’s back? Netherlands and Spain are some of powerhouses and why all sudden do some people think that Chile can bring a huge upset in the group? Does Chile have players like world class players like RVP or David Villa in the team? Against these typical assumptions, here are a few reasons why I believe Chile has a great shot going far in World Cup.

Chile will be making their ninth appearance at the World Cup.  As they prepared to qualify for 2014 World Cup, Chile had a rough time. Under the former manager, Claudio Borghi, Chile won four of their six games, placing themselves as the top in their group during the beginning of qualification. But, after much improvement, Chile fell behind. Unexpected losses in their next four games dropped them into sixth place overall in the group, completely jeopardizing their ticket for World Cup. Even disciplinary issues among Chilean players have sparked up under Borghi’s leadership where players had no respect for the coaching staff.

Realizing how their road to World Cup is in complete jeopardy, La Roja sacked Borghi (thank goodness, he needed to go) and then hired Jorge Sampaoli who had a great success while leading the Universidad de Chile club. It was actually a matter of time that Chile needed a new coach because Borghi would not have led Chile into World Cup at all. Knowing that Sampaoli had a rich experience in coaching around South American club teams, Sampaoli would definitely bring changes to the team.

Graciously, Sampaoli turned tables around. For next six games, Sampaoli brought the record of five wins and 1 draw. Also, in their friendly matches, La Roja crushed England with 2-0 and pressed hard against Germany despite losing 0-1. Sampaoli completely transformed the team into very aggressive team on both sides of the ball which also made Chile very entertaining to watch.

Chile’s strength lies in their ability to press hard and their counter speed. Alexis Sanchez (FC Barcelona), attacker, is one of Chile’s players who will be a threat to Spain and Holland’s defense. Sanchez had a solid season in Barcelona, finishing as the team’s second most prolific scorer behind Lionel Messi. His speedy counterattack was key to a victory against England as he was able to easily tire out defenders. His quick pace will exhaust Spain’s legs(seriously Spain needs to stop depending on Xavi Alonso) and he has no problem finding the back of the net against Netherlands’ fresh defense. No wonder why Chile is a feared team in this World Cup.

Also, Arturo Vidal is another player that both Spain and Netherlands must watch out for. As a midfielder, Vidal reads the game very well and can change the tide of the game. He will help Chile to press ball defensively, while looking out for swift counter attack. Vidal can easily dominate the midfield and can chip in a few goals which would severely hamper Netherlands and Spain’s road to 16th round. But since Vidal just got cleared off from knee injury, only question is can Vidal play his 100%? Vidal’s condition will have an impact on Chile’s performance as he acts as the team’s backbone.

Teams in Group B must be careful around the six yard box because 40% of Chile’s goals arrived around that area. Chile hardly gets dominated from set pieces and makes sure their flanks remain tough. Chile’s defensive midfielder, Gary Medel will make sure that Chile’s line doesn’t fall apart when playing against Spain and Netherlands. Without a doubt this is probably why even Brazil’s head coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari expressed the deep concern against Chile.

“I hope Chile doesn’t qualify,” Scolari said. “They’re well organised, they’re intelligent, they have a good side.”

But Chile must improve their defense no matter what. Their poor defense was one of major reasons why Chile had a tough time qualifying. They let an average of 1.5 goals per game. Especially during the six games under Borghi, Chile failed to recover their points because their defense was horrible. Chile must remind themselves that Spain and Holland don’t expose their mistakes easily. Netherlands has RVP and Robben who will easily pressure Chile’s defense. Also, since  Spain now has Diego Costa, Spain now possess a major threat against Chilean defense who can find the back of the net anytime.

Chile is not the team that Spain and Netherlands should lose to and La Roja is going to put up a tough fight against them. Chile is going to make sure that none of teams will coast their group. However, in order for Chile to go far in their group, Chile has to be in the top of their games. With bright players like Vidal, Sanchez, and Medel, it’s reasonable to say that Chile can perhaps bring some of the most insane upsets against these powerhouses (well Australia is not really a problem for them) at this World Cup. So, fear Chile, not Chili’s.