PREVIEW
Canada and Chile take on each other in their final Group A match in the ongoing Copa America 2024 on Saturday at the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Chile’s manager, Ricardo Gareca, must address the attacking struggles that have plagued his squad throughout their campaign as well as in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
During its 1-0 defeat to Argentina on Tuesday, Chile took 72 minutes to register the first of its three shots.
All attempts came after Gareca substituted Alexis Sanchez, Chile’s top international goal scorer, who also failed to convert a prime opportunity in the goalless opener against Peru.
However, winger Victor Davila defended the 35-year-old Sanchez at a press conference on Friday, asserting his significance to Chile’s prospects.
FOLLOW: LIVE updates from Canada vs Chile, Copa America 2024
“We know that many a time it isn’t your day,” Davila said, through an interpreter.
“There are no doubts about it. It’s part of the work, it’s part of football. You can have a good day or a bad day. But we have no doubts on Alexis’ performance.”
Canada, who has three points after Jonathan David’s goal secured it a 1-0 win over Peru on Tuesday, will likely only need a draw against Chile to progress to the knockout stages, unless Peru manage to upset Argentina.
Despite the victory, Canada’s manager Jesse Marsch remains concerned about his team’s defensive weaknesses.
“I still challenge them that both in the Argentina game and the Peru game, a lot of the wounds came self-inflicted, from us giving bad balls away or being a little careless in dual situations,” Marsch told OneSoccer this week. “I could see that we needed to make changes.”
Comments
SHARE