Chile v Bolivia Group D, At the Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Copa America Centenario
Both teams are in need of points
They came into the match with an identical record in Group D and were looking to better their chances of advancing from the group.
Chile being defending champions were the favorites to win this match. And even though they walked away with 3 points, there will be questions about the strength of Chile going forward in this tournament.
Chile lost to Argentina in their first group match and are not looking forward to losing to another CONMEBOL neighbor.
Bolivia lost to the only CONCACAF team in the group. Losing is never trendy, so Bolivia is not coming into the match to lose again.
A win will put these teams back into the race to advance out of the group. A loss will be a disaster, and a draw will not help their cases.
As both sides were very much aware of how things are supposed to pan out, they took the field in Massachusetts ready to make amends of the poor start they had to the competition.
Chile had the better of the match. Bolivia was pinned back for most of the match and lacked offensive creativity.
At half-time, both teams stood in the position they started. A goalless first half meant all the action had to happen in the second half.
Less than a minute into the second half, Chile grabbed the lead after Bolivian midfield attempt to pass the ball from the back lead to a loss of ball possession on their side of the field. A ‘give-and-take’ pass between Arturo Vidal and Mauricio Pinilla was finished off with a strike into the net by Vidal.
Bolivia evened the score in the 61st minute from a wonderful free kick by substitute Jhasmani Campos, who had entered the match 3 minutes prior.
Campos strike in the 61st minute seemed to be good enough for Bolivia. As much as both teams needed a win, Chile was more desperate for one. The defending champions did not want an early exit from the competition.
A late penalty kick was awarded to Chile when Bolivian defender deflected a cross with his elbow. Accidental or not, it disrupted a potential scoring opportunity.
Arturo Vidal took to the spot and doubled his goal tally in the Copa America Centenario.
Questions would be asked about Chilean offense. A game where they were clearly the favorites, it took them a late penalty to steal a win.
Chile will be facing Panama in their next Group D fixture. Bolivia will meet Argentina.
Chile will be hoping for a draw between Argentina and Panama.
At the moment, the table looks like this…..
| Group D | |||||||
| Team | Played | Win | Loss | Draw | GF | GA | Points |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Panama | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Chile | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Bolivia | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
