Chile have been very good under Jorge Sampaoli, but they'll be sorely tested against the sheer quality of talent Brazil can bring to bear.
This may "just" be a friendly, but make no mistake: these two teams both desperately want to win this match. As two of the best national teams in South America, both Brazil and Chile want to try to get a leg up on the other as the Copa America approaches this summer. Brazil will be looking to extend their already-impressive seven match win streak, fresh off a 3-1 blasting of France in Paris, with captain and chief goalscorer Neymar riding some incredible form to try and make his nation forget their disappointing World Cup performance.
For Chile, things have been a little rougher of late. They just suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Iran in Austria, though that's mitigated somewhat by their playing a mostly second-string side in the friendly. Still, such a result hurts, and doesn't make their up-and-down form since the World Cup look any better. Still, they've won every other match in their recent run, so hey, maybe they can keep that up and surprise Brazil, right? ... Right?
Key Player - Arturo Vidal (Chile)
While Brazil are loaded with top-shelf talent from top to bottom, Vidal is unquestionably Chile's best player and the focus of their side. His club form has been fairly up and down lately, so we don't really know yet which version of Vidal we're going to get. Do we see to all-action world beater Vidal, or the half-worn-out Vidal who drifts in and our of play? The answer to that question will have a pronounced impact on Chile's chances of taking a result in this match, and for the sake of neutrals everywhere, let's hope it's the former.
Key Question - Can Chile keep pace?
Make no mistake, this is a quick and talented Chile side, but Brazil showed off some lethal pace against France on Thursday. If Chile can't find a way to keep up or at least slow the Brazilians down a little, they could be left terribly disadvantaged and struggling to stay in the match. Jorge Sampaoli has worked some tactical marvels in his time at the helm of the Chile national team, but he has his work cut out for him in a bigger way than ever before in this match.
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. local
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. & Canada), Fox Sports Premium/Basico, Mega (Chile), ITV 1 (U.K.)
Online: beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada)
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1DeX6xQ
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