In case you missed it, the 2017 Confederations Cup is well into its semi-final rounds with just four countries remaining, eager to win the grand prize at the end of the road. On Wednesday, it’s current European champions Portugal who are gearing up for a place in the final but find themselves blocked by South American heavyweights Chile.
A Seleccao have not lost a competitive game since September last year and will be firm favourites to thwart their opponents Chile come Wednesday. Indeed, the European side have won seven of their last eight competitive matches, scoring a whopping 29 goals on the trot. With Ronaldo leading the line, it appears there’s no stopping Portugal from sealing a place in the Confederations Cup final.
Such confidence is exhibited by Portugal boss Fernando Santos, who said in the pre-match press conference, “Chile has many strengths, but like any team they have weaknesses. We will look to exploit them come the match.”
Those kinds of comments could only prove to embolden the opposition, and Chile would definitely go out there come match time to prove their doubters wrong, that they are in the match not merely to make up the numbers.
Indeed, Chile have clinical attackers of their own, with Alexis Sanchez certainly the first to come to mind. The winger has been in excellent form for his country in recent months, with the 28-year-old having already scored two goals in his last five matches for Los Rojas.
Such numbers can only bolster Chile’s confidence, as manager Pizzi pointed out in his press conference, saying, “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.
“Ronaldo is part of the team and of course we’ll have to watch him and try to counter his strengths. He’s got many. But we’ll do nothing special, really, just what we do every time we play a game,” the Chile national team head coach added.
It’s important to note that the last and only time these two sides have met was in a friendly back in 2011. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Much has changed since then. The two sides’ meeting at Kazan on Wednesday can only be explosive.
Portugal vs Chile kicks off at 7:00PM England Time on Wednesday.