Chile 5-0 Bolivia: Alexis Sanchez on the scoresheet as hosts romp to victory
Chile put Arturo Vidal’s drink driving disgrace behind them to cruise into the quarter finals of the Copa America with a five-star drubbing of Bolivia. The tournament hosts humiliated their Andean neighbours on the pitch and their supporters mocked them by chanting “if you don’t jump you don’t have the sea”, a jibe referencing Chile’s annexation of Bolivia’s coast in the War of the Pacific in the late 19th century.
La Roja were certainly the conquers in this final Group A game. Charles Aranguiz put them in charge after just three minutes and then scored again in the second half, while Alexis Sanchez finally scored his first goal of the tournament, Gary Medel showed he is not just a gnashing pit bull by grabbing the fourth with a stylish chip, and Bolivia captain Ronald Raldes put the ball through his own net in injury time. This was by far the heaviest defeat of the tournament so far, yet Bolivia will still be in the quarter finals, finishing second in Group A, and will face the second placed team in Group C. Chile meanwhile will be back at the Estadio Nacional next week to take on the best team to finish third, which could be any of Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Paraguay or Uruguay.
The build up to the game was inevitably dominated by Vidal’s ruined Ferrari and his arrest for driving home drunk, and Jorge Sampaoli’s much-debated decision to keep him in the squad.
The Argentinian coach’s move was criticised by anti-drink driving groups, with one campaigner interrupting his press conference to voice her outrage, while an editorial in El Mercurio, the country’s leading newspaper, called for Vidal to be removed from the squad, as did a readers’ poll on the newspaper’s website. Sampaoli argued that Vidal’s commitment to his country, including playing at last summer’s World Cup with an injured knee, meant he deserved a second chance. Sanchez, meanwhile, said Vidal had to “break his arse” in order to drive Chile to Copa America glory and compensate for his error. The Juventus forward’s name was roared approvingly by the crowd in the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos when it was read out on the tannoy, but the tournament’s top scorer looked a bit off the pace during the game. Instead, Chile took their early lead through a splendid move between Medel, Eduardo Vargas and Aranguiz, the latter sending the ball bouncing into the bottom corner after a stylish layoff from Vargas. Just three minutes were on the clock and Chile had plenty of time to expand on their lead, with Bolivia rarely looking capable of creating chances of their own. Sanchez fizzed a shot just above the far top corner and then curled a free-kick just wide of the near post. Next the Arsenal man smacked the other post from a set-piece. He was getting so close he could smell the goal. He talked before the game, in between references to Vidal’s rear end, about feeling “anxious” about getting off the mark. His wait to find the net would be over soon enough. The excellent Jorge Valdivia found space down the right and chipped the ball across the box, and Alexis crouched down to dive and head the ball into the far corner, running towards his team-mate immediately to show his gratitude for the pass.
The game now looked over as a contest, with Bolivia’s painfully obvious limitations becoming clear once again after their positive performances against Mexico and Ecuador. They had just one proper attempt all game, a weak shot by Marcelo Martins Moreno early in the second half which Claudio Bravo gathered comfortably. Indeed, the teams in Group C should all be aiming to finish second in their group to set up a quarter final tie with Maurico Soria’s side, clearly the weakest team left in the tournament.
Chile meanwhile continued to pour forward. Vargas should have scored his third goal of the tournament just before the break but screwed his shot just wide of the post. Jean Beausejour blasted over the bar, and Vargas missed two more good chances. Aranguiz came close to getting his second and did eventually double his goal tally, walking the ball in after controlling Angelo Henriquez’s pass. Chile’s supporters, criticised by their own players for their lack of noise against Mexico, started to party. Then Medel gave them a goal to toast. Valdivia opened up space on the left and curled the ball across the area. El Pitbull did not snap at the cross, instead lifting it over Romel Quinonez with panache. There was still time for one more goal, another moment of humiliation for Bolivia, as Raldes’s attempted clearance floated towards the back post and in, taking Chile’s tally for the tournament to 10 goals in three games.
Tougher opponents will await them in the knock out rounds, but here they proved to themselves that they indeed have what it takes to end their 99-year wait to lift the Copa America.
