Chicago : All football lovers eyes are on the semi final of Copa America Centenario semifinal to be played between defending champions Chile and Colombia. These two are definatley tournament’s most entertaining teams and they will be vying for a place in the championship final on Wednesday night here. Defending champions Chile are currently ranked fifth in the FIFA World Rankings and Colombia No. 3 by FIFA.
Chile are on cloud nine after their stunning 7-0 demolition of Mexico on Saturday night, while Los Cafeteros had to sweat out a penalty-kick shootout win over Peru. A one-sided result in either direction seems unlikely, as the match promises to be a high octane drama.
Chile displayed flawless game to mercilessly thump El Tri in Santa Clara. But, La Roja must face Colombia without Arturo Vidal, thanks to a yellow card that renders him suspended for the all important semi final. The Bayern Munich mainstay is a terror in the center of the park, equally comfortable breaking up opposing attacks, orchestrating with his passes and breaking into the penalty box to threaten with shots of his own.
There can’t be a ‘like for like’ replacement for him. But Chile manager Juan Antonio Pizzi has options in Pablo Hernandez, Charles Aranguiz, Francisco Silva or he can put Gary Medel in the midfield instead of his center-back spot.
Colombia manager Jose Pekerman, respected as soccer’s top managers, has made keen scrutiny for his lineup. Running out a dramatically overhauled XI in the final group-stage match backfired as Costa Rica knocked off the Cafeteros 3-2, dropping them into second place in Group A behind the United States. The 4-2-3-1 used vs. Peru looked more or less like a full-strength squad, yet goals did not materialize. So, what he does in this match, is eagerly awaited too.
Chile moved from strength to strength after tournament-opening loss to Argentina and a wobbly outing vs. Bolivia. But later they were back on track with a 4-1 defeat of Panama before the Mexico exclamation point. Colombia, however had no such momentum after a solid dispatching of the US in their opener. But their goalkeeper David Ospina has performed spectacularly, while Claudio Bravo has suffered for Chile.
Both are well-rounded modern ‘keepers who play at top European clubs – Arsenal and Barcelona. Both will need to be at their best or even above to save the goals and take their team to the final.
