Chile vs. Spain Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria South Africa 2:30 PM EST Friday June 25, 2010 on ESPN
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Chile 7.00 / Spain 1.45 / Draw 4.00
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Moneyline: Chile +575 / Spain -222 / Draw +310
In one of the last 2 Group H matches on Friday night, which is one of the last 2 group matches before the playoffs begin Saturday, Chile faces World Cup favorite Spain. Chile leads the group with 6 points and Spain has 3 points. Chile can win the group if they win or draw and Spain can win the group if they win Switzerland do not beat Honduras by two goals or more.
There are a couple other scenarios that these 2 teams can get it, but the winner will make it to the knockout phase regardless of what happens in the other Group H match.
Spain came back and beat Honduras in their last match after getting shocked losing to Switzerland in their first match. Chile also won their last group match beating Switzerland 1-0.
Spain looked like the Spain they were supposed to be in the match against Honduras looking very fluid and playing a great passing game. David Villa had the 2 goals and he would have had a hat trick, but he missed a penalty shot. Spain played so well, especially on defense, that out of Honduras’ 9 shots none were on target. If they play like that against Chile they will not be beat.
Chile also looked very fluid and precise in their 1-0 win over Switzerland. However, they should have scored at least 2 more goals, but missed a couple of shots they should have made. They will have to take advantage of the scoring chances they get against Spain. The Chileans dominated on offense 20 shots while Switzerland only had 7, but the Swiss played with a man down for most of the match after a player was sent off with a red card.
Spain has one of the best offenses in the tournament and even though they did score 2 goals in the match against Honduras they missed a couple of easy chances, especially the penalty shot, and they have only scored 2 goals in the tournament.
Spain Recent Form:
6/21/2010 Spain 2 Honduras 0 (World Cup)6/16/2010 Spain 0 Switzerland 1 (World Cup)
6/8/2010 Spain 6 Poland 0 (Friendly)
6/3/2010 Spain 1 South Korea 0 (Friendly)
Switzerland Recent Form:
6/21/2010 Chile 1 Switzerland 0 (World Cup)
6/16/2010 Chile 1 Honduras 0 (World Cup)
6/3/2010 Chile 3 Israel 0 (Friendly)
5/30/2010 Chile 1 Northern Ireland 0 (Friendly)
The Spanish attack finally came alive in the Honduras match and David Villa and Fernando Torres will be tough to stop if they are on. Look for one of these guys to score in this match.
Chile plays good defense and they will have to do just that to throw Spain off their game. Spain tends to struggle against physical teams so look for Chile to make more challenges and be tougher in this match.
One player that has to have a good match is Chile MF Alexis Sanchez who will be counted on to spurn the counter attack and keep the Spanish from dominated the time of possession in the midfield.
Segio Ramos is a defender for Spain, but he spends a lot of time in the opponents’ backfield. He will attack in this match and the Chilean defense has to keep tabs on the other Spanish players not just the world-class strikers.
Spain G Iker Casillas was barely tested in the Honduras match, but will be tested in this one. Chile cannot afford to squander opportunities to score like they did in the Switzerland match since Casillas is such a good keeper.
The Chilean defense has yet to allow a goal in the World Cup, but they blanked a Honduras squad that is pretty weak and the Swiss only played with 10 men for most of the match. G Claudio Bravo will not keep a clean sheet against Spain with the offense they have.
Jason’s Pick: I think Spain will come out like they did against Honduras and get quite a few chances to score. Chile will as well, but not as many, as Spain will win this match by a score of 2-1.
Spain is the smart pick in this game, but I will lay some green on Chile, as my brother in law is from there, but I do not think it is money well spent, as I am betting with my heart, which is not the smart thing to do.
