Spain’s 2-1 Victory Wins Group H As Chile Take Second Place

Spain completed their comeback from an opening match loss to Switzerland with a 2-1 win over Chile, giving the Spaniards first place in Group H and allowing them to avoid Brazil in the Round of 16.

Chile gets that distinction after finishing second in the group, a fate they will happily accept after falling behind early 2-0 and going down a man.

David Villa has produced his second wonder-goal of the World Cup, scoring from around 45 yards to put Spain up 1-0 over Chile in the 25th minute.

The opportunity came as Claudio Bravo came out of his box to try and play a ball put behind the defense by Xabi Alonso, hoping to connect with Fernando Torres. On the left flank of the attack, Bravo slid for the ball but could only play it up the field, where David Villa ran onto the bill and hit it into the empty net.

While Spain has not looked as dominant as they were expected to at tournament’s onset, their opening match loss, injuries, and problems scoring are rendered inconsequential if they finish top of their group.

How The Match Turns: Part of Chile’s progressive approach is the pressure they exert on their opponents; specifically, on the opposing back line, as Chile’s attackers furiously stress their opposition in their own end. If Spain’s defenders deal with this pressure well, the Spanish will have opportunities to improve upon their goal scoring issues. If they have trouble with that pressure, Chile could put Spain out of the tournament.