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.
World Cup 2010, Spain Vs. Chile: 2-1 Win Gives Group H To Spain
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.
Goals by David Villa (from around 45-yards out, into a vacated goal) and Andres Iniesta had Spain up 2-0 after 37 minutes, with a second yellow card given to Marco Estrada for a foul during the second goal’s build-up putting Chile a man down.
Rodrigo Millar’s goal in the 47th minute, coming from a deflection off the leg of Gerardo Martino, pull Chile within one, though the match slowly started to settle into two teams preserving the result.
With Switzerland struggling against Honduras in what would end a 0-0 draw, holding the Swiss to four points in the group, the teams played out the result that left Spain on 6 points with a +2 goal difference, winning the group, with Chile’s 6 points and +1 difference keeping them second.
Spain will play Portugal on Tuesday in the Round of 16, while Chile faces Brazil on Monday.
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