Copa America Final Preview: Chile vs Argentina
Most of the fans would have predicted this final at the beginning of the Copa America tournament. Hosts Chile will face favourites Argentina for the Copa America trophy in Santiago on Saturday.
The pressure will be enormous on both sides. Chile is trying to win its first ever international title in front of its hostile fans. Argentina has not won anything of its own since 1993 and would love to break the drought here.
The current Chile squad is one of the best in their history. The spine of the team excels at the biggest of clubs in Europe. Claudio Bravo (Barcelona), Arturo Vidal (Barcelona) and Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) are the biggest names but the talent of Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas isn’t to be discounted either.
Chile overcame a tenacious Peru 2-1 in the semi-final and played a high-pressing game throughout the tournament. The golden generation will be eager to win their first trophy – and at home too!
In contrast, Argentina is full of stars and household names from every league. Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria and Javier Pastore are just some of the names that form the core of this team. It is really surprising how Argentina went 22 years without major silverware.
Argentina swamped Paraguay 6-1 in the semi-finals. Messi proved to be influential and was involved in Argentina dominating every minute of the game. If they bring the same form to the final, Chile will have a huge task on hand.
Chile will have the home support and the players would stretch every muscle to win the trophy. At odds of $2.38 offered by Ladbrokes, Chile could be the underdog every neutral fan is cheering for.
Messi divides opinion on being the best player of his generation. Surprisingly, for all the titles he has won with Barcelona, Messi has very little to show with his national team. He is offered odds of $2.30 by Ladbrokes to score any time in the game.
Both teams have the attacking weapons that can hurt the opposition defence. At their best, Argentina is unstoppable but Chile is not far behind. The home side played with a purpose throughout and one last performance will fulfill the wishes of their supporters.
An interesting bottom note for this game is that the winning coach would be an Argentinean, no matter who wins. Will it be Gerardo Martino or Jorge Sampaoli?
