Today’s second clash brings Group B’s Spain and Chile together, with both the teams chasing their individual respective targets –
Where to watch?
For viewers in the United States, here’s where you can watch the game between Spain and Chile (3pm ET/Noon PT)
English language: ESPN and WatchESPN
Spanish language: Univision, Univision Deportes Network and Univision online
Portuguese language: ESPN Deportes
Referee –
Mark W Geiger (USA)
Starting XI:
Spain: Casillas; Azpilicueta, Javi Martínez, Ramos, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Iniesta; Pedro, Diego Costa, Silva
Chile: Bravo; Jara, Silva, Medel; Mena, Aránguiz, Díaz, Isla, Vidal; Vargas, Alexis Sánchez
Spain –
The champions looked anything but that on the opening day of their World Cup campaign. They were humbled and brought to ground by a rampant Dutch outfit, who exacted revenge on them following their heartbreak 4 years ago. Spain lost 5-1, a result which no one foresaw. They would however, be determined to erase that from their system as early as possible, starting tonight by a win against Chile.
Chile –
They deserve credit for the way they set themselves up for their opening tie against Australia. They caught them off guard and were rewarded with a 3-1 win. They will be hoping that Spain fail to recover from their opening-day setback and that they cause an upset.
Statistics –
Erroneous defending from Spain cost them, as out of their 5 goals conceded, 2 were from defensive mistakes.
While Chile were more disciplined at the back against Australia, they will be looking to maintain the same tonight as well.
Man to watch out for –
Spain would be hoping that striker Diego Costa will be able to shrug off his injury which limited his time against Holland and reproduce the form he showed for Athletico Madrid last season.
Chile would be relying on Alexis Sanchez to inspire them to yet another strong performance, as he comes up against several of his Barcelona team-mates on the other side.
Prediction –
I expect del Bosque to bring out the best out of his team and successfully manage to get his title defense back on track by securing the 3 points tonight.
Spain 2-1 Chile.
Do you feel that Spain will successfully put the Holland mauling behind them at the expense of Chile? Have a feeling that another player will stand up and put in a solid performance? Tell us in the comments section below.
