South Africa World Cup 2010 Group H: Chile

GROUP H

Spain Switzerland Honduras Chile

Chile

Road to South Africa

Under Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa the Chileans have undergone an impressive transformation during their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup. In their first game they lost in Buenos Aires to two goals from Juan Roman Riquelme and only managed to pick up four points in their first four CONMEBOL qualifiers.

Back in 2007 they seemed a team to overly reliant on the aging legs of Marcelo Salas and the star of their appearance at the 1998 finals in France simply could not produce the goods anymore for his country. Bielsa had a rethink and placed his faith in a few of the squad's young guns. The coach's gamble paid off as Chile went on a terrific run which ultimately sealed their place in South Africa with a game to spare.

One particularly impressive aspect of Chile's qualifying campaign was the 16 points which they picked up on the road. Five wins away from home came courtesy of a refreshing attacking approach which if replicated in South Africa could well catch a few opponents by surprise.

The current squad are sky high confidence wise after moving on from the disappointment of Chile's dismal qualifying campaigns for South Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 where the nation finished ninth and seventh in South America respectively.

Fixtures

Chile Kit 1 Copyright © Soccerphile	Chile Kit 2 Copyright © Soccerphile

Chile v Honduras 16 June; Nelspruit
Chile v Switzerland 21 June; Port Elizabeth
Chile v Spain 25 June; Pretoria

Analysis

After finishing as runners-up to Brazil in the CONMEBOL qualifying series there is a sense in Chile that La Roja are not just going to South Africa to make up the numbers. The fans back home will hope that Chile can sow up their passage to the second round with six points in their first two Group H games. A positive result against a tricky Honduras outfit will set them up for a very winnable game against Switzerland. Of course getting anything from Spain in the final group game will be a tall order. One point of caution to stop fans of Chile getting too carried away is that they have lost to all three of their Group H opponents in the most recent head-to-heads.

Central to the high tempo game Bielsa has managed to get Chile playing is the team's core of talented youngsters. Wing wizard Alexis Sanchez of Udinese, defensive utility man Arturo Vidal of Bayer Leverkusen, Gary Medel of Boca Juniors who is dubbed the Chilean Gattuso and striker Fabian Orellana also of Udinese are the youthful quartet central to Chile's record breaking qualifying campaign.

Despite the retirement of Marcelo Salas they still have their share of experience in the squad to help the promising batch of youngsters along. Humberto Suazo of Mexican outfit Monterrey finished top of the goalscorers chart in the South American qualifiers with 10 strikes in total. At 28-years-old Suazo will be looking to leave his mark on the World Cup finals in South Africa. Claudio Bravo of Real Sociedad not only wears the gloves for Chile but also the captain's armband and centre-half Waldo Ponce's performances for Vélez Sársfield this year have attracted strong interest from Europe.

Chile's blend of experienced pros and hungry youngsters plus the steady hand of Bielsa mean anyone underestimating them in South Africa will be in for a nasty surprise.

Key player: Humberto Suazo

Luis Fabiano and Lionel Messi are just a two of the top draw strikers who Humberto Suazo scored more than in the South American World Cup qualifying campaign.

Suazo's total of 17 goals for his country currently have him sitting eight in Chile's list of all time top goalscorers. The player will be looking to climb that particular list as he is used to finishing up on top. Not only was he top scorer in the most recent CONMEBOL qualifiers but also in the 2006 and 2007 Chilean league and also the 2008 Mexican league. In fact in 2006 he was named the top goalscorer in the world by FIFA's stats department.

So we can safely safe that the boy can score goals but where does his threat come from? Suazo is not the tallest but he is built like a tank and has a surprising turn of pace. Expect to see him bulldozing into the box in South Africa as his single-mindedness for goal sees him flatten all in his path. Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is a fan and it would not surprise me if Suazo was already snapped up by a European outfit before a few goals at the World Cup bump up his price.

One to watch: Alexis Sanchez

21-year-old Alexis Sanchez has a full box of tricks and he's not afraid to use them. The stylish winger's performances in World Cup qualifiers saw him winning the odd game for Chile all on his own such as his brace in the defeat of Bolivia.

El Niño Maravilla was snapped up by Udinese as a teenager and is further evidence of the Italian outfit's vast scouting network in South America. The Serie A side loaned the midfielder to Colo-Colo and then River Plate where he picked up an Argentine league winners' medal.

After playing a full season for Udinese last term Sanchez saw his profile rise in Europe to the extent he was discussed at Old Trafford as a possible replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo and a bid of €25 million was rejected from Bayern Munich.

Sanchez's performances this season for Udinese may have blown hot and cold but he has still sparkled every time he has worn the red of Chile.

Coach: Marcelo Bielsa

There is clearly a method behind the madness in El Loco Bielsa's work with Chile. During his time in charge of La Roja they picked up their first ever point in Montevideo, he masterminded Chile's first ever win over Argentina, recorded their first win in Lima since 1985 and tasted victory in Paraguay for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Bielsa clearly has passion for the game and although three or four hour press conferences may now be a thing of the past he remains the owner of one of the most comprehensive football video collections in the world.

He will be desperate to improve on his last showing at the World Cup finals when he could not steer his native Argentina out of the group stages in 2002.

Bielsa's influence on the current Chilean set-up is there for all to see as his promotion of youth has aided the implementation of a high tempo attacking game.

Record

1930, 1950, 1966, 1974, 1982 First Round; 1998 Second Round; 1962 Semi-Final

FIFA Ranking

Predictions & Latest Odds

Will make it out of the group.
World Cup Betting

How they qualified

Finished second in the South America group behind Brazil.

On the sidelines

Chile was disqualified and banished from the 1990 & 1994 World Cups.
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Soccerphile says

When tipping teams to do well at a World Cup, I tend to avoid teams who find themselves drawn in the latter groups. Chile find themselves in Group H and will there will be a lot of time spent twiddling their thumbs before they even take the pitch.

Under Bielsa however they have a coach very well prepared to keep the squad focused while they wait for their all important 2010 World Cup debut against Honduras. The importance of this game for both sides cannot be overestimated and injuries permitting Chile should do enough to at least avoid defeat. I think Chile will have too much for Switzerland and therefore could well be set to take second place in Group H behind Spain.

Second round opponents for Chile should they progress would be either Portugal, the Ivory Coast or their continental rivals Brazil. They would go into a game against any of these three as underdogs. If Chile's youngsters could spring a surprise in the second round however they find themselves on the kinder half of the draw and have the option to go on and make history. A quarter-final appearance would represent Chile's best showing at the finals since they hosted the competition in 1962.

The Squad

Goalkeepers Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Luis Marín (Union Espanola), Miguel Pinto (U. de Chile)
Defenders: Pablo Contreras (PAOK), Ismael Fuentes (U. Catolica), Mauricio Isla (Udinese), Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich Albion), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors), Waldo Ponce (U. Catolica)
Midfielders: Jean Beausejour (America), Carlos Carmona (Reggina), Marco Estrada (U. de Chile), Matías Fernández (Sporting Lisbon), Arturo Vidal (Bayern Leverkusen), Rodrigo Millar (Colo-Colo), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas), Jorge Valdivia (Al Ain)
Forwards: Mark González (CSKA Moscow), Fabián Orellana (Xerez), Esteban Paredes (Colo-Colo), Alexis Sánchez (Udinese), Humberto Suazo (Zaragoza), Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo)

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