Who says the World Cup is all about the favorites?
The defending World Cup champions Spain come into this game desperate for a win after they were shocked in their first match of the tournament, a 5-1 route at the hands of the 2010 runners up, the Netherlands.
If the Spaniards are going to make good on our Group B prediction and qualify out of this group alongside the Dutch, they’ll need a much stronger effort on Wednesday against a strong Chilean side that dispensed with Australia on Friday, 3-1.
You can cash in effort-free now with our $500 World Cup contest. Just click the link and predict the tournament winners to enter, and read on for a breakdown of this highly-anticipated Group B match.
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Spain vs. Chile, World Cup 2014, Group Stage Betting Preview and Prediction
Poor, poor Iker Casillas. The Spanish goalkeeper came into his team’s first World Cup 2014 game Friday in Brazil having allowed just two goals in competition at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
90 minutes later, the Real Madrid keeper had allowed no less than five goals to a furious Dutch side, including a horrendous give away to Arjen Robben, while also picking up a yellow card. Along with the rest of the Spanish side, Casillas was shocked in a second half that saw the Netherlands score four unanswered goals while taking a crucial three points.
Casillas and company are far from finished, but in order to advance to the second stage of the tournament, they will likely need to beat Chile.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Improvements will need to come from throughout Spain’s line up but start at the top. The newly-Spanish Diego Costa, who was booed throughout the game, was largely ineffective in their first match. Other than embelleshing a tackle in the box to draw a penalty that Xabi Alonso would convert, Chelsea’s top man struggled and was removed early in the second half.
Against Chile, Spain needs to return to the controlling style that has helped them win the last three major soccer tournaments.
Though they controlled 57% of the possession against the Netherlands, they struggled to contain the elite attacks of Robben and Robin van Persie (though, to be fair, it would be hard to stop a goal scored by Superman). An angry Casillas should help, but Spain could also use more from superstar Andres Iniesta, who was repeatedly dispossessed in the midfield against the Netherlands.
If you’re as excited as we are about how this World Cup is going (15 goals in the first four games!?), don’t miss this chance to get into the action by creating a betting account in a few quick minutes, before reading on for our prediction as to who will win this match.
Betting on Chile
Spain isn’t done facing teams with elite offenses, however. In their first game of the tournament, against a surprisingly-strong Australian team, Chile brought a variety of weapons to bear, nearly running away with the match early after goals in the twelfth and fourteenth minutes.
While the Socceroos fought back and challenged at times off the head of the ageless Tim Cahill, Chile’s 62% possession paints a more accurate picture of the flow of the game.
With the Spanish showing they are beatable along the back line, Chile will look to offensive leader Alexis Sanchez again after the Barcelona star (19 goals in 34 La Liga games) took it to the Australians, scoring once and unlocking a terrific opportunity for Jorge Valdivia on another.
The Chileans will also need to stand stronger on the backline against a Spanish team that will bring a wily offense to their game against the South Americans.
The Australians showed with cross after cross that the Chilean defense can be opened on high balls, and in Fernando Torres the Spaniards have their own springy scorer. While the Spanish may start Diego Costa again against the Chileans, look for them to keep him on a short leash in favor of Torres, who came on in his place against the Netherlands and could expose the central defense of Chile.
Writer’s Prediction
Alexis Sanchez turns in another exceptional game (and boosts his status as a Golden Ball candidate) while leading Chile over Spain in what would be another stunning upset, while Spain’s time in the sun of international success ends in the group stage. Chile is +332 to upset the defending champions.
