Manager: Jorge Sampaoli
Previous Best: 3rd Place (1962)
Likely Line-up (3-4-3)
| Pos | Name | Age | Caps | Height | Club |
| GK | Bravo | 31 | 79 | 6'1” | Real Sociedad (ESP) |
| CB | Rojas | 30 | 19 (1) | 5'9” | Universidad de Chile |
| CB | Medel | 26 | 61 )5) | 5'7” | Cardiff City (WAL) |
| CB | Jara | 28 | 65 (3) | 5'10” | Nottingham Forest (ENG) |
| RWB | Isla | 25 | 47 (2) | 5'9” | Juventus (ITA) |
| CM | Vidal | 27 | 54 (8) | 5'11” | Juventus (ITA) |
| CM | Díaz | 27 | 21 (1) | 5'6” | Basel (SWI) |
| LWB | Mena | 25 | 25 (3) | 5'9” | Santos (BRA) |
| RF | Sánchez | 25 | 67 (22) | 5'7” | Barcelona (ESP) |
| CF | Valdívia | 30 | 57 (4) | 5'8” | Palmeiras (BRA) |
| LF | Vargas | 24 | 30 (14) | 5'9” | Valencia (ESP) |
* Has appeared at a previous World Cup
Average Age: 26.7
Total Caps: 525
Best Odds: 150/1 (PaddyPower, SkyBet)
Player to Watch: Arturo Vidal
'La Roja' go into this World Cup with massive problems at the heart of their defence. None of the defenders selected is over 5’11” (1.80m) tall. Manager Jorge Sampaoli has had problems with a porous defence for some time, but had found a solution of sorts by moving Gary Medel (5’7”) of Cardiff City into central defence alongside Marcos Gonzalez (6’3”) during Chile’s 2-0 victory over England earlier in the year. These plans were shattered when Gonzalez, who has not been playing for his club side, arrived to join the preliminary squad badly out of shape. Gonzalez, would have been assumed to be certain starter for Chile, was one of those sent home when the squad was trimmed to 23.
In an attempt to address this issue (and also the loss of Fiorentina winger Matías Fernández), Sampaoli has changed his formation to a variation of 3-4-3, playing with 3 central defenders, 2 wing-backs, a false 9, and 2 inside forwards. It might just be just crazy enough to work, but given that Chile only scheduled 2 friendlies, and that he has attempted to allow anyone who is likely to play a part to get some game time those fixtures, the first time his starting XI play together in this system will be in their World Cup opener against Australia. It is hard to be too critical of Sampaoli though. He has cut his coat according to his cloth, and the loss of González and Fernández was beyond his control.
Claudio Bravo will wear both the goalkeeper’s jersey, and the captain’s armband. Bravo play for Real Sociadad in La Liga, and in my researching him I found this clip of him scoring from a free-kick. There is no commentary on the video, and I have been unable to establish why he was taking the free kick, or if he makes a habit of it. He has never scored for Chile, but even if it isn't terribly likely I will be hoping to see him coming up the field (a lá Jose Luis Chilavert) if Chile are awarded a free-kick around the box. The immortality of by becoming a pub quiz answer is still available to the first goalkeeper to score in a World Cup.
As mentioned previously Gary Medel will play in the back 3. Predicting who will play with him is still something of a guessing game. I have put Jara and Rojas in my ‘probable ‘team, but in truth these selections would be better described as ‘possible’. As you can see I have also included heights in that team, to give you a flavour of the lack of height this team suffers from.
In contrast to central defence, Chile’s wingbacks both look very capable of doing the job Sampaoli has asked of them. Mauricio Isla of Juventus and Eugenio Mena of Santos. Mena received his first big break from Sampaoli. Out of the side at Club Universidad de Chile in 2011, Sampaoli was appointed as the new manager, and put Mena into the team. The team went on to win the league and the Copa Sudamericana (the South American equivalent of the UEFA Cup) that season.
Isla tends to be behind Stephan Lichtsteiner in the pecking order at Juventus, but is something of a utility man, and made 21 appearances in all competitions this season.
The change from playing as orthodox fullbacks, to wing-backs, will suit both players games. Like almost everyone in this Chile team, they are extremely attacking minded. A back 3 will not so much give them license to attack more, as mean there will be one more body at the back to deal with and counter attacks they would have been left out of position for anyway
He is likely to be joined in central midfield by Marcelo Díaz, who is another of those who enjoyed Copa Sudamericana success with Sampaoli at Club Universidad de Chile. The defensive midfielder, playing that role in spite of his diminutive figure, is often compared to Spain's Xavi, and his metronomic passing will be the heartbeat of the team.
The two wide forwards in this system will be Alexis Sánchez on the right, and Eduardo Vargas on the left. I won't focus too much on Sanchez as most will be more than familiar with him from Barcelona, but what he will bring is experience of playing in a similar system to this, albeit with Lionel Messi in the false 9 role.
In this side the false 9 will be Jorge Valdívia. He might not be Lionel Messi, but he is well suited to the false 9 role. He is a real flair player; extremely creative, and likes to dribble the ball past defenders
The Left forward will be Eduardo Vargas. He will look to cut inside with diagonal runs and get a shot off. He is quick, and is an excellent striker of the ball.
Chile have a radical tactical set-up, and their direct, attacking pressing style will certainly make them an entertaining side to watch, but they look extremely vulnerable in the air. They should be delighted that Spain have chosen not to take Alvero Negredo to the World Cup. ‘The Beast’ would have caused them problems they would simply not have had an answer for, but Del Bosque obviously feels Spain will be able to deal with Chile without having to change their tiki-taka style. The likes of Ron Vlaar from Holland or Gerard Pique will still represent an attractive prospect in the goalscorer markets, as Chile will struggle to pick them up from set pieces. They are also in a very tough group, with both finalists from South Africa, Holland and Spain, and Australia. They will certainly entertain, but it is hard to see them progressing beyond the group stage. If either Holland or Spain fail to live up to expectations though, they will probably be the team to take advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment