Holding Midfield
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Having collapsed spectacularly in their rematch of the last World Cup final, Spain needed to salvage their campaign with at least a point against the bluster of Chile. Jorge Sampaoli was evidently licking his lips as the events of the first round unfolded, with his side even better equipped than Netherlands to face the Spanish. Javi Martinez and Pedro Rodriguez were drafted into Vicente del Bosque’s side as Gerard Pique and tiki taka’s poster boy Xavi failed to impress in the opening game, while Chile copied the Netherlands’ 3-4-1-2, albeit with Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez playing wider, as Jorge Valdivia made way for defender Francisco Silva and Arturo Vidal took his place at the tip of the midfield. The Netherlands had proved an unusual opponent for Spain by pressuring them in midfield when they had the ball rather than sitting back and sticking rigidly to a defensive shape, but Chile did it even better. The Dutch had perhaps been fortunate not to concede more as they had surrendered a fair few chances to the Spanish despite their impressive victory, yet Chile for the most part limited Spain to a handful of hard-fought chances. Unlike the Dutch, their front three […]
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