World Cup 2010: Chile vs. Spain - Full Time Review
The European champions Spain came into the game with the group leaders, Chile, having lost their opening game of the world cup to Switzerland. While the win against Honduras in their second game showed a significant improvement, it by no means guaranteed progression into the next round. In fact, all four teams can qualify for the next round as this round of fixtures takes place. Chile have had a very good start to their world cup, winning both their matches and on the face of it, are the best team in the group.
Both teams started off with an attacking mindset and it only takes 4 minutes for the first chances of the game. After a foul, Xavi took the freekick and it was Fernando Torres who got on the end of the cross but his header from close range did not trouble the goalkeeper as it flew harmlessly over the goal.
Torres got another chance in the 5th minute but once again he fires over the goal. Torres has not shown the form for Spain that he does on a regular basis for his clubside Liverpool. His strikepartner David Villa always manages to outshine the Liverpool marksman.
In the 21st minute Estrada was booked for a foul on Busquets. With this card he became the third player from Chile to go into the book. The deadlock was broken on the 24th minute mark by who else but David Villa. The Chilean goalkeeper made a mistake as he rushed out of his goal to cut a through ball but in the processhe left his goal unattended and David Villa took the opportunity to put Spain ahead. He shot with his left foot from almost 35 yards out, a superb finish from this World Cup's top scorer.
A last ditch tackle for Pique in the 35th minute stopped Chille from levelling matters as he chased all the way from the opposite corner to dive infront of a goal bound shot and deflected it for a corner.
The most decisive moment of the first half came when, in the 37th minute, a mistake by a Chilean defender allowed Iniesta to score. Torres obtained the ball and passed it to Iniesta who passed it onto Villa who then returned the ball to Iniesta. He still had a lot of work to do but with his right foot he placed the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal to make the score 2-0.
While the Spainish team were celebrating the Mexican official gave a second yellow card to Estrada and sent him off. The replays showed that Estrada had inadvertently clipped Torres as he was running towards the penalty area. The decision appeared very hard and meant that Chille were at a severe disadvantage as the first half came to a close.
The Chilean manager made two changes as the second half started. Esteban Paredes replaced Valdivia and Rodrigo Millar is on for Gonzalez which showed good attacking intent from the Chileans, who did not want to just give in despite being down to 10 men. Their efforts were rewarded three minutes later as Millar's chipped shot was deflected into the goal by Pique.
With the score at 2-1, the match hung in a balance. One more goal for Chile, combined with a win for Switzerland, would eliminate the World Cup favourites Spain. Del Basque, the Spanish Coach, replaced a tired looking Fernando Torres in the 53rd minute. He was replaced by Arsenal Captain, Cesc Fabregas.
Spain nearly put the game to bed in the 63rd minute as Villa looked certain to add to his goal tally, but a great tackle from Ponce brought an end to the Spanish attack and meant that Chile were still in the game. Sanchez, who had been arguably Chile's best player, was taken off in the 66th minute. He was replaced by Fabian Orellana.
Spain made their second change of the game as Martinez replaces Alonso as Del Basque looked to secure the 3 points and a first place finish in the group. The sending off had taken a toll on the Chilean team by this point. The Spanish Goalkeeper, Casillas, was hardly tested and Spain had the majority of the possession as the match reached the last ten minutes.
The match appeared all but over in the 86th minute when both teams appeared to have settled for the result. The match was offically over soon after at 2-1. Spain go through to the next round as group winners, and Chile join them. The other game finished 0-0 which eliminated Switzerland and Honduras. Chile's progress means that they are the 5th South American team to get to the next round alongside Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
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