COUNTDOWN 5: Second round the terminus for Sanchez and Vidal

Chile will be well at home this summer in Brazil, ready to take on the heavyweights from Europe, and Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez are the duo to lead the South American nation’s charge.

Arturo Vidal is hailed as the most complete midfielder in the world, breaking up opposition attacks expertly and bursting down the other side to continue an attacking move and possibly score. He has also acted as Juventus’ first line of defence from high up the pitch when attacks break down. He is a dead ball specialist, rarely seen to miss a penalty kick, therefore the news of his knee surgery was a blow to the nation. Although, he will be with the team in Brazil, he is not expected to be on top form, therefore the onus falls on another wizard of the ball, Alexis Sanchez.

The former Udinese of Italy forward is Barcelona’s second-highest goalscorer behind Lionel Messi this season on 24 goals. The “wonder boy”, as he is known by his native fans, has also been on fire for his country of late ahead of the World Cup, after going through a long spell of drought. The 24-year-old scorer of unthinkable goals has hit the back of the net seven times in his last eight international outings, and his knowledge of the Barcelona players could help Chile match and possibly defeat Spain at the Mundial.

Chile have enjoyed eight World Cup appearances and are set for their ninth, finishing third at home in 1962 — their best finish ever — and managing two Round of 16 appearances in 1998 and 2010. This summer will see them play in consecutive Word Cups for the second time in their history — fist time was five decades ago — but they started qualification badly.

Losing three straight games, Argentine coach Claudio Borghi was sacked and replaced by another Argentine, Jorge Sampaoli. The 43-year-old had an instant effect, transforming the team’s luck, making them a more attacking unit which saw them undefeated in six of the seven qualifiers he took charge of (five wins, one draw). His team was almost always on the score sheet, scoring in over 70 per cent of the matches they played.

La Roja, under the stewardship of Sampaoli — a pupil of the Marcelo Bielsa attacking school — became an extremely attack-minded side, scoring 29 goals in qualifying, the second best behind Argentina.

This was achieved due to the array of attacking talent on the team. Apart from Sanchez, Eduardo Vargas and Matias Fernandez are skilled attackers, while Jean Beausejour and Mauricio Isla support them on the wings.

Strength

Chile’s attacks can from any passage of play: cutting in from the wings, poking it in, shooting from distance or within the box. Attacking versatility is the team’s major strength, and Coach Sampaoli’s major advantage is the presence of players who can adapt in many positions in his ever-changing formation and tactical approach during games — a la Pep Guardiola style.

Also, Chile are well-acquainted with the Brazilian weather and will be playing at ‘home’. Therefore, there will be no problem playing their high-intensity football brand.

Weakness

Chile’s defence is porous, luckless, and does not help the team with confidence at all, having conceded the highest number of goals during qualification, conceding two in almost half of their games played. They find a way to lose leads and the team has a mental block in coming from behind.

Last line

If luckily they do crawl out of a group which includes Holland and reigning World Champions, Spain, they could come against Brazil, a side that has jinxed Chileans on the last two occasions they managed to reach the round-of-16. Adios La Roja!