Chile took this game more than serious & began aggressively pressuring the Spanish play makers which lead them to lose the ball, frustrating them & creating mistakes. Six Spanish regular players who played against Finland were rested but this was no excuse as Chile were more compact & tactically disciplined from the start.
Chile went ahead early in the 4th min thanks to Vargas as they caught Spain still getting into the groove. Spain managed to shake off the surprise & had to work to get their usual game together as Chile was virtually on top of the Spaniards. In the 37th min Pedro broke away down the right flank & crossed to find Roberto Soldado who scored a header & equalized. However, Chile keep with their aggressive & disciplined play & got ahead again in the 43rd min with a second from Vargas.
The second half saw Spain make changes ( Navas, Iniesta, Reina, Nacho - debut, Koke & later Negredo ) in order to find some freshness in their game & open up the Chilean team. But Chile got stronger thanks to the enormous work of Vidal & Isla in the midfield along with constant pressure on the Spaniards. Chile created opportunities to shut the match but failed to convert, while Spain started pulling from their Champions pride & kept slowly chipping away looking for the equalizer. Spanish players like Cazorla, Pedro & later Negredo never gave up & in the last moments of the game Jesus Navas scored the equalizer in the 91st min.
Sigh of relief from the Spanish Team bench & Coach Del Bosque as his team managed to save the night. Chile were impressive & look a very good team which should be in the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil & will be a squad that will give others plenty to think about. Spain, although pushed to their limits & without some regular players, needed this tough sparring match to keep them all on their toes, as you cannot "sleep" at this level of Football.
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