Chile World Cup Squad Preview

Written by Tony Concannon Friday, 14 May 2010 14:26

World Cup Squad Previews

 Chile qualified for South Africa in style, and could well surprise a few teams with their attractive attacking play. Argentine coach Marcelo Biesla has created a confident and united squad, and hopes are high this time around that the South Americans could make some progress in their first World Cup since 1998. They will line-up alongside Switzerland, Spain and Honduras in Group H.

 Many critics claim Chile played the most attractve football of all the South American countries in qualifying. They scored plenty of goals, culminating in a 4-2 victory over Colombia to seal their finals place. However, they also conceded plenty, 22 in total, including seven in their two clashes with Brazil.

 The average age of the squad is extremely young (around 23) and one fresh face to look out for is striker Alexis Sanchez, whose goals and skills for Udinese in Serie A this season have attracted envious glances from some of the bigger Italian sides. Chile's attacking prowess is complemented further by the midfield creativity of Sporting Lisbon's Matias Fernandez and Al Ain's Jorge Valdivia as well as Sanchez's strike partner Humberto Suazo.  

 Many of the names in the preliminary  squad are not too familiar, with West Brom defender Gonzalo Jara the only Chilean in the squad currently based in the English league. One name that may be remembered by Liverpool fans in particular, or maybe not, is their former speedy winger Mark Gonzales, now with CSKA Moscow.  

A few countries could well be surprised as to how hot the Chile team actually is at the moment. Striker Sanchez has been quite literally on fire for Udinese this season and his flicks and tricks could add an explosive element to their game. The opening clash with Honduras could well be a fiery encounter whilst their final group match against Spain is set to be a tasty clash of attacking play. You should watch out for Chile, they may be stronger than you think.

CHECK ALL THE LATEST ODDS ON CHILE

Chile Squad:

Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Miguel Pinto (Universidad de Chile), Luis Marin (Union Espanola); Roberto Cereceda (Colo Colo), Pablo Contreras (PAOK), Ismael Fuentes (Universidad Catolica), Mauricio Isla (Udinese), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors), Gonzalo Jara (West Brom), Waldo Ponce (Universidad Catolica), Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen); Charles Aranguiz (Colo Colo), Carlos Carmona (Reggina), Marco Estrada (Universidad de Chile), Matias Fernandez (Sporting Lisbon), Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Manuel Iturra (Universidad de Chile), Rodrigo Millar (Colo Colo), Pedro Morales (Dinamo Zagreb), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas), Jorge Valdivia (Al-Ain), Jaime Valdes (Atalanta); Jean Beausejour (America), Mark Gonzalez (CSKA Moscow), Hector Mancilla (Toluca), Fabian Orellana (Xerez), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Alexis Sanchez (Udinese), Humberto Suazo (Real Zaragoza)
 

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