Portugal vs Chile
Competition: Confederations Cup
Date: 28 June 2017
Kick-off: 20:00 CET
Before flying to Russia, Portugal coach Fernando Santos surprised many by saying that he didn’t really care about winning the Confederations Cup, he was/is fully focused on the World Cup qualifiers. Let’s not forget, Portugal are second in their group, three points behind leaders Switzerland, and if they don’t find a way to turn the tables around, they’ll have to go through playoffs to win a ticket for next summer’s finals. Their displays in Russia these last days though, have made betting companies consider them favorites to win the competition, alongside Germany. Offensively, they’ve been very productive, not just scoring seven goals, but also creating another big number of chances. Defensively, they’ve kept two clean sheets, and even against Mexico, in that 2-2, they didn’t really allow their opponents that many chances. All in all, Portugal are looking very good, and with highly motivated (as always) Cristiano Ronaldo scoring and/or assisting in every game, they have reasons to hope that they’ll go all the way in this competition.
Chile have been way less convincing than Portugal in their three games so far, a win over Cameroon with two late goals and a draw to Australia are not something the South Americans should feel excited about, but it’s interesting to notice that against a much bigger opponent, Germany, Chile played their best game, looking much more motivated. It’s true that some of their key players look even more tired than expected, but I repeat, against Germany, in their one really big game in the group stage, they played their best match, and maybe deserved something more than a 1-1 draw. A detail that could prove crucial, is that Chile finished second in their group, and they are facing Portugal having gotten a day of rest less, compared to their European opponents. An already tired looking team are about to play the most important game in this competition having 24 hours of recovery time less than a very competent rival, a detail that, I repeat, could prove crucial, especially in the last 20-25 minutes.
Portugal vs Chile: Head-to-head Stats
In 2011, Portugal hosted Chile in a friendly game, in Leiria, and drew 1-1. Before that, the Portuguese had two wins over the Chileans, in the super distant 1928 Olympic Games(!), and in another friendly game in 1972.
Portugal vs Chile: Prediction
Portugal are considered favorites to win. The only thing that makes me hesitant to agree with that is the way Chile played against Germany. Deep down though, I feel Portugal should win, they have been much more convincing than Chile so far in this competition, plus, they had an extra day of rest.
Portugal vs Chile: Tips
Portugal’s win pays 2.37. A 1-0, Fernando Santos’… favorite score, pays 7.00, and if it’s Ronaldo who scores, this goes up to 13.00.
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