WC ‘Blaugrana’ Report: Spain vs. Chile

The Spanish national team knew their third game in the group stages of the World Cup would be a tough one. The statistics before their game against Chile witnessed four South American teams qualifying to the second round, everyone topping their groups, and without a single loss! To qualify, Spain had no other choice but to win. Six Barcelona players were in the starting line-up while Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. The Spanish team was under pressure from the beginning of the game while the Chilean team was a bit more relaxed having won their previous two games against Honduras and Switzerland.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

Final result: Spain 2-1 Chile.

The Spanish team started the game chaotically. Real chances on goal were lost by Torres, no short passes were played, and the defensive line was a bit shaky. Chile in the first 25 minutes were dominating the Spanish team and almost scored more than one goal before the newly signed Blaugrana player, the fascinating David Villa, took a shot 40 meters from goal and put the ball, which was wrongly parried by Chile’s goal keeper, into the back of the net.

Twelve minutes later, Iniesta scored Spain’s second goal after beautiful short passes played between him and Villa. The 2-0 lead was enough to make La Roja gain confidence, shape, personality and Barcelona-style possession during the last 10 minutes of the first half.

It took the newly substituted Chilean player Roger Millar two minutes after the second half started in order to score the first goal for Chile. The shot from outside the penalty area by Millar was deflected as it hit Pique’s knee and changed direction, deceiving Casillas, into the net.

While Puyol and Pique had a relatively calm night, and Busquets and Xavi were doing their work silently, Iniesta and Villa shined as they both showed motivation to play and score goals.

The Spanish team has qualified along with Chile to the knock-out round where Spain will face Portugal. Although they have qualified, Spain have not really shown their potential as World Cup winners. Coach Vicente del Bosque has been choosing a conservative style of playing that seems unusual for the Spanish team! Although Torres does not look fully fit, and was substituted during the second half, Del Bosque seems to prefer playing another midfielder instead of having Pedro or Llorente helping the lonely David Villa. Thus the Spanish team ends up playing with five midfielders and one striker – even though Chile were playing with ten players! And to win the World Cup, Spain certainly needs to score more goals and Del Bosque has to take risks!

What do you think might be the solution to Spain’s current situation? Is Del Bosque responsible for the current psychological state of what seems like unmotivated Spanish team players? Should Del Bosque choose another tactical formation for the game against Portugal? Will La Roja be able to qualify for the quarter final? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.