Chile vs Spain – Villa and co to leave Chile’s hopes dangling
Published:Despite sitting atop Group H with a 100 per cent record, having played some of the most attractive football at the tournament, Chile are at dire risk of exiting the World Cup if they lose their match with Spain, which kicks off at 7.30pm.
The Euro 2008 champions were stunned by the Swiss in the opening round of matches, succumbing to defeat for only the second time in three years.
The pre-tournament favourites, now 5/1 to win the World Cup, put in a functional display to beat Honduras 2-0 and detach themselves from tournament life support.
But they must win this last game (4/9) to complete the recovery and book a place in the last 16, ahead of Chile on goal difference.
Should Switzerland also beat Honduras by two or more goals then Marcelo Bielsa’s side would be out.
With an atypical 4-3-3 formation, Chile’s displays have deserved more goals than the two netted so far, and they may well rue not making the most of guilt-edged chances against Switzerland. A third win for Chile is 6/1, while the draw – good enough to secure top spot – is 10/3.
They have shown a refreshing abandon in both their games with the frontline in a constant carousel rotation. Particulary impressive has been Alexis Sanchez and he is 11/1 to score first here.
However, that mindset should fit Vicente Del Bosque’s side who felt strangled by Switzerland’s “ugly” tactics. With Fernando Torres (4/1) one game sharper and David Villa (3/1) continuing where he left off against Honduras (but before the penalty miss) each looks good for first goalscorer.
Indeed, with their recently-found tournament resilience, Spain should be too classy for Chile’s defence, which appears brittle against the big nations – they conceded seven goals in two games against Brazil in qualification.
In what could turn out to be the game of the World Cup, it may be worth betting on over 3.5 goals, a 9/4 chance, while a 3-1 Spain win is 10/1 to be the correct score.
How do you see this Group H decider between two of the World Cup’s most beautiful teams going? A 1-1 draw is 13/2, while a third consecutive 1-0 win for Chile is 10/1. See the full Chile vs Spain match betting market.
