Team B (CHILE) Nickname : La Roja (The Red One) Confederation : CONMEBOL Head Coach : Jorge Sampaoli Captain : Claudio Bravo Most Number of Caps : Leonel Sánchez (84) Top Goal Scorer : Marcelo Salas (37) Current FIFA Rankings : 12 free registration , free soccer tips from expert, What you waiting for? Join Now: bit.ly/1ki25o3 For the first time in history, Chile are qualified to back-to-back World Cup events, giving South American La Roja a chance to improve their 10th place finish in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Finishing third in the World Cup Qualification South America, Jorge Sampaoli’s men were able to earn 28 out of the possible 38 points by winning nine out of 16 games/ They lost the other five and drew one. With a midfield consisting of Arturo Vidal, David Pizarro and Matias Fernandez, the Chileans were able to generate decent chances that allowed them to score 29 goals in the qualifiers, which is second-most next to Argentina’s tally of 35. But their defense, which has the likes of Gonzalo Jara, Gary Medel, Mauricio Isla and Eugenio Mena, have conceded 25 goals in the competition, which is the highest number of goals conceded by any of the top four countries in the qualifiers. Add to their problems is the fact that they fell to 2014 World Cup “Group of Death” in Group B. Along with Asia’s Australia, Chile must face the 2010 World Cup finalists: runners-up Netherlands and defending champions Spain. Most Chilean fans blame the nation’s inconsistent defense to quick succession of managers. From 2010 to 2012, three different managers took charge of the country’s football team. Marcelo Biesla led the team in South Africa but resigned the following year due to his differences with the Chilean Football Board, and his successor Claudio Borghi was forced to resign from the post after three losses in the qualifiers in November 2012. Jorge Segovia is the current coach of the squad and seemed to have steered Chile into the right direction. Chile went on to win 10 of their first 15 games under Jorge Sampaoli, and closed out the qualifiers with five wins in their last six fixtures. By the time the 2014 World Cup kicks-off, Chile might be stronger than they ever were and can become legitimate contenders to go out of the group stages. Their friendlies somehow show they have a good chance to stand toe-to-toe against world-class squads after they defeated England 2-0 and drew Spain and Brazil 2-2 in their recent friendlies. Chile might find it hard to outclass Spain when it comes to a real competition, but they can definitely match the Netherlands and Australia and aim for a spot in the Last 16. With a few more games under Sampaoli to just synchronize and prepare for the main event in Brazil, Chile will make the World Cup more entertaining. free registration , free soccer tips from expert, What you waiting for? Join Now: bit.ly/1lRZWxt
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 07:10:51 +0000
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