Saturday, June 2, 2012

Chile Defeats Bolivia 2-0

The match was at home for Bolivia, in La Paz. Conditions were harsh, a 3650 meter altitude along with a substandard field played a big factor. It was assumed that the task wouldn't be so complicated for Chile. They didn't play so well in the first half, but Charles Aránguiz (Universidad de Chile) managed to score during the last  few seconds before the first half ended. Their pace improved during the second half when Bolivia was reduced to 10 men after Luis Gutierrez was sent off in the 54th in a straight red card for making a strong foul on Alexis Sanchez. Arturo Vidal scores in the 83rd minute, shortly after Eduardo Vargas get substituted in for Suazo. Overall, Chile suffered more than what was needed to stay within the 2-0 win against a weak opponent, currently poor in football, and without tactical variants. This victory currently puts Chile in second place standings behind Argentina in the South America qualifiers for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. Chile is scheduled to play their upcoming qualifier match next week against Venezuela on 6/9/12, 6:35PM EST.