Chile has been looking surprisingly spry on the field. Against Spain, though, they looked just that bit slower and clumsier than they had in their previous matches. Were they playing less well? Or did they seem to be off their stride because they couldn’t muster the extra reserves required to up their tempo, dexterity and inventiveness to the level of the Spanish game?
Spain created 2 terrific chances in the first 5 minutes, and their opening goal was an absolute wonder. A perfectly controlled explosion up the left side by Torres left the last Chilean defender stranded and forced the alert Claudio Bravo to dash off his line to deal with the danger. Unfortunately, his tackle diverted the ball into the path of Torres’ strike partner, the always-impressive David Villa, who proceeded to curl it into Bravo’s empty net from a good 40 yards out.
About a quarter of an hour later, Chile allowed Spain a second goal when Xabi Alonso threaded the ball through the midfield, then crossed it to the goal-scorer with one of his trademark pinpoint passes. Now well scared of the diminutive Villa, two Chilean defenders raced to close him down, at which point Villa cut the ball back to the open Iniesta who had nothing to do but slot the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
About that same time, Estrada was red-carded off the pitch for a foul on Torres. A man and 2 goals down, the outlook seemed bleak for the Chileanos, but coach Bielsa revamped his attack and made an inspired double-substitution that landed the ball in the back of Casillas’ goal almost immediately after the restart.
The Chileanos showed some skill and plenty of character and tenacity. I’m still rooting for Spain, but looking forward to seeing what else Chile’s got for us before this Cup is done and dusted.