The World Cup qualification run in South America has been chaotic and unpredictable. It’s a fact perhaps best exemplified by two-time defending Copa America champions Chile sitting in the fifth-place spot, which would force a playoff against a member of another confederation at the end of qualifying. Directly above them in the last guaranteed spot for the World Cup is Colombia, and that just so happens to be who Chile are traveling to face on Thursday.
Colombia vs. Chile 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
The pressure is mounting on two of South America’s best teams to start piling on points in CONMEBOL qualifying.
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
There’s a lot of pressure on both of these teams, who each have fanbases fully expecting them to be in Russia come 2018. With how completely unpredictable CONMEBOL qualifying has been so far, however, there’s no guarantee that both of these teams will find a way to qualify. And with just two points separating third place and seventh place more than halfway through the qualifying group, there’s no guarantee that either of these teams will make it through.
That means getting all three points in this match is absolutely crucial for both teams, making this likely to turn into a slugfest in short order. Don’t take your eyes off this one. Something crazy is virtually guaranteed to happen.
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. - English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), Caracol (Colombia), Fox Sports, Mega (Chile)
Online: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), Caracol Play (Colombia)
Match Date/Time: Thursday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia
Three big things to know
- If you want to watch one important individual matchup in this game, keep a close eye on Colombia’s James Rodriguez and Chile’s Gary Medel. Whether Medel keeps playing in central defense or steps up into midfield, he’s going to be spending a lot of time trying to contain James. The Colombian, however, may not be at full strength after only just coming back from an injury — though he looked solid coming off the bench for Real Madrid last weekend. If he can get up to speed quickly and beat Medel, James can have a profound impact on this game.
- A little over a month ago, when the last international break began, Alexis Sanchez was on fire. He couldn’t stop scoring goals, and couldn’t stop being massively influential for Arsenal. Since that break ended, though, he hasn’t quite looked the same, appearing a step slower and much, much less vital to the Gunners’ successes. Yes, he has scored a couple of important goals lately — Arsenal’s first goals against Ludogorets and Sunderland — but overall he just doesn’t look the same. Why that is isn’t clear, but Chile fans will want to watch their star closely to see how he fares this time around.
- Colombia’s defense for this match is looking like it’s going to be a very young group with limited national team experience. The two most-capped players on the back line are Santiago Arias and Jeison Murillo, and both have struggled enough for their club teams of late that they’re far from locks to start this match. The other six men who primarily play in defense have 45 caps combined, with none holding more than 10 so far. The most talented of that group is the wildly inconsistent Eder Alvarez Balanta. Colombia needs their defense to step up in a big way to make sure they can win this match, but right now that looks far from certain.
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