Chapter 485: Brazil's first big upset in the World Cup
All the top 32 teams appeared, giving the impression that the strong teams are always strong. Except for the strong teams that lost in the dialogue, there were basically no upsets in other games.
Will this World Cup not be an upset?
The media and fans don't think so. They think Spain is the unpopular choice.
They defeated the Netherlands 4-3 in the first round, but the media and fans believed that the Dutch team performed better overall.
If it weren't for Li Chuanqi's outstanding performance, many media believed that the Dutch team would have won that game.
Now that Li Chuanqi is injured, who can take on the responsibility of scoring goals for Spain?
Costa?
Iniesta?
Or other players?
Moreover, defense general Pique bid farewell to the World Cup in Brazil early due to injury. Who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of Spain's defense?
Spain's second opponent in the group is Chile. Chile can be considered a home game. Does Spain have a chance of winning against such an opponent?
The Spanish media is optimistic about Spain. As long as it can defeat Chile, Spain can lock in a promotion spot in advance and does not have to fight Australia in the final round.
"Bosque and his players all know the importance of the match against Chile, so they also said they will try their best to win!"
AS reported: "Our reporter interviewed many Spanish players and they all said they would take Chile seriously.
Harvey said, 'Although we suffered serious injuries after the first game, the team's morale is now very high and we will win the second game!'
Iniesta said, 'Chile is an opponent worthy of respect. All we have to do is be ourselves. As long as we play the football we want, we will achieve the results we want!'
Costa said: 'Many players have scored their first World Cup goals, and I will soon score my first World Cup goal. Lee's absence has indeed had a great impact on us, but we are confident to lock in the qualifying spot in advance!
'
From the players' words, we can see their strong self-confidence.
Spain's biggest problem now is the defensive end. In the first game, the Dutch team penetrated the goal three times, which fully shows that Spain's defense line has big problems.
How far Spain can go in this World Cup depends on whether it can solve its defensive problems.
The outside world thinks that the Spanish team will lose to Chile in an upset, but we think this possibility is very small, and the possibility of an upset is basically zero."
…
After the first round ends, the second round begins immediately.
After the first round of competition, the second round will be more intense. The team that got off to a good start hopes to win another victory and lock in the qualifying spot in advance.
Teams that lose in the first round must fight tooth and nail to win and leave a glimmer of hope for qualifying. No one wants to be eliminated early.
Brazil and Mexico in Group A both won the first round. Both teams wanted to defeat their opponents and lock in qualifying spots in advance.
At four o'clock in the afternoon on the 17th, the two teams started at the Castellan Stadium in Futtarai. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, the two sides ended with a score of zero to zero.
Both sides were dissatisfied with this score. They failed to lock in qualifying spots in advance, giving hope to the other two teams.
Croatia seized this opportunity and defeated Cameroon with a score of 4-0. The African Lions lost both games and became the first team to be eliminated early from the World Cup.
Croatian forward Mandzukic scored twice in this game, shining brightly and being the main contributor to the victory.
Group A is over and the match of Group B is on.
Spain's opponent in this round is the Chilean team. Both teams have won the first round. Whoever wins can qualify early.
Li Chuanqi was exempted from the game, Martinez replaced Pique and Ramos started as a partner, Pedro replaced Li Chuanqi and Costa, and Iniesta formed the striker.
After the game started, Spain controlled the rhythm of the field with its strong overall strength, but they were unable to score. Instead, Chile's defensive counterattack was impressive.
Chile took the lead in the 20th minute. Sanchez cooperated with Vidal on the right and then passed straight. Aranguiz made a pass from the right side of the penalty area. Vargas stopped the ball in front of the small penalty area and passed Casillas, and then stabbed Ramos before him.
Shot into the empty net!
One to zero!
Chile leads!
Chile expanded the score in the 43rd minute. Alonso fouled Sanchez in front of the penalty area. Sanchez's free kick shot from 25 meters in front of the goal was saved by Casillas. Aranguiz's outside instep shot into the net!
Two to zero!
Chile extends its lead!
Chile entered the second half with a two-goal advantage.
After the start of the second half, the Spanish team launched a siege on the Chilean team.
But whether it was Costa's shot in the penalty area, Iniesta's long shot outside the penalty area, or Xavi's free kick, they could not knock on the door of the Chilean team!
After ninety minutes, Chile won with a score of 2-0, revealing the biggest upset of this World Cup!
With six points, the Chilean team basically locked a qualifying spot.
Spain's life hangs on a thread.
French newspaper L’Equipe commented: “Only when you lose can you know its importance. Li missed the match against Chile due to injury, and Spain highlighted its ‘weakness’ as they failed to score a single goal with twenty shots!
In fact, in the first game, Spain showed its weakness. Without Li Chao's outstanding performance, Spain would have suffered a defeat.
In addition to the problems on the offensive end, Spain's defense was called a "car accident scene" and was completely defeated by Chile's counterattack!
Watching Costa and others waste opportunities again and again, Spanish fans miss Li infinitely.
In interviews after the game, many Spanish fans said that if Li had not been injured, Spain would have won.
Del Bosque also talked about this issue at the post-match press conference, "Lee's absence has had a great impact on our offense. The Spanish team is used to Lee's presence and is used to him scoring goals to help the team win."
Without Lee in the team, they don't know how to play football...'
When talking about the qualifying issue, Del Bosque believed that Spain still has the possibility of qualifying. "Chile's six points does not mean that they will definitely qualify. As long as we win a big victory in the last game, we can beat them to qualify."
Therefore, I am still optimistic about qualifying.
Li is actively recovering and may come back early!’
Lee has now become Del Bosque's lifeline, can he really come back early?"
Spain fails, can the Netherlands seize the opportunity?
It is generally believed that the Netherlands will have no problem beating Australia.
An hour after Spain lost two goals to Chile, the match between the Netherlands and Australia started.
After ninety minutes of fierce fighting, the Dutch team won a clean 3-0 victory and won their first victory in this World Cup.
In the standings, Chile occupies the top spot with six points, the Netherlands and Spain rank second and third with three points, and Australia has two losses, becoming the second team to bid farewell to the World Cup in Brazil.
If Spain wants to qualify, it must defeat Australia by a big score in the final round.
Because the Dutch team will definitely fight against Chile. Once the Netherlands wins, all three teams will have six points and the goal difference will be higher.
Chile's current goal difference is four, the Netherlands' goal difference is zero, and Spain's goal difference is minus one.