Spain v Chile Betting Preview

Written by James Beckett Tuesday, 22 June 2010 18:02

Betting Odds

Spain take on Chile knowing that they need a win to seal a place in the last 16, anything else and the pre tournament betting favourites could be set for a shock exit. Chile on the other hand will know that a point will see them top the group, and in all probability avoid South American giants Brazil.


Spain by their own standards have hardly been at their best so far in South Africa, after their shock opening defeat to Switzerland, they looked comfortable but not clinical in their 2-0 win over Honduras, and they will need to change this if they are to see of the real threat that Chile possess.


Fernando Torres missed several golden opportunities against the Hondurans and he will be desperate for a goal, having not scored for Spain in a competitive game since his winning goal in the final of Euro 2008.

Coach Vicente del Bosque will probably name an unchanged side, however if Andres Iniesta overcomes his thigh injury he could come back in to the side. But David Villa looked very dangerous in a wide left role against Honduras, so don't be surprised to see no changes against Chile.


For the South American side, Humberto Suazo may be left out after a disappointing first half display against Switzerland, Jorge Valdivia replaced him at half time on Monday, and he could be set for a start against the Spanish.


Coach Marcelo Biesla will be looking for Alexis Sanchez to continue his fine World Cup so far. The Udinese man has been earning rave reviews so far, and if he continues his fine form, he could go down as one of the players to emerge from South Africa.


The Chile defence are yet to concede a goal so far in South Africa, and they will need to be just as impressive against Spain if they are to deal with vast amounts of quality that the Spanish side have. Biesla will have to make sure his players press the ball as much as possible, because if you give the likes of Xavi and Jesus Navas time on the ball, they will cause problems.


Whether Chile will be able to be so disciplined against the Spanish is another question. You feel that after Spain's disappointment against Switzerland they may have got their act together. Del Bosque will know what finishing second in Group H will mean, and you would imagine that he will be encouraging his players to go out and win the game comfortably to insure a game against Brazil is not what they will face next.


Switzerland proved in their win over Spain that they are not unbeatable but from now on you would expect Spain to up their game. The Spanish have too much quality to be eliminated at such an early stage of the World Cup, and they proved at Euro 2008 that they can play under pressure, and expect them to prove this once again with a comfortable win over their South American opponents.

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