The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup football results

(Wikipedia photo)

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia football fixtures kicked off with Russia, the hosts overcoming New Zealand 2-1 yesterday.

Tonight's football results saw Portugal and Mexico drawing 2-2 while Cameroon lost 2-0 to Chile. 

The analysis and focus turned to the Video Referee Assessment (VRA), which made a few confusing decisions.

No immediate explanations or visuals were offered to public as to what was going on during change of decisions.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid was an ordinary self in his Portuguese side while Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal came off the bench to feed Vidal with a a campagne pass for the opening goal for Chile.

Russia will continue their preparations for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup by hosting the FIFA ConfeD Cup this summer.

The eight-team tournament is held the year before each Fifa World Cup to give the host country an opportunity to test their facilities and provisions ahead of the main event.


It features each confederatiion champions - Afcon, Oceania, European Championship and Copa America, Asian Champions, the World Cup hosts and the reigning world champions.

Chile beat Spain 2-0 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Chile started their encounter against the reigning champions like a house on fire. There was an early chance, early corner-kick and an early free header with a clear sight on goal, all wasted. Spain nervously tried to fight the flames and cool down the embers until they finally regrouped and took the game to the Chileans, who seemed to chill a little.

The Europeans attacked with a lot of pace through the middle with David Silva calling the shots in the middle trying to pry an opening for the killer pass to Diego Costa. Both teams began to press each other harder up-front being quick in the middle and final thirds of the pitch. Chile was forced to play the ball early or long, but they kept their shape and composure whenever the ball crossed the centre line.

Upon winning a fierce midfield battle around the right side of the centre circle, the South Americans swiftly inter-passed the ball intricately with Alexis Sanchez, Aranguiz and Vargas involved. It was Sanchez’s ball into the box that was squared by Aranguiz to Vargas to touch it across a recovering Ike Casillas who had tried to narrow the angle on Aranguiz. Vargas’s second touch was a toe-poke as he competed with Xavi Alonso for the ball. Spain’s central defence and midfield was guilty of being sucked into play to their left and exposed their centre and their right. Casillas should not have tried to come off his line until the first touch was made by an attacker.

As play progressed, Silva was neutralised by Vidal as Mendel suffocated Costa. In trying to make amends, Spain composed their play and effectively put Pedro into good use on the right. Chile began to chase each and every ball, engaging in combative duels with Alonso, Busquets and Ramos. The Chilean game plan revolved around doubling up on the Spanish engine room, Iniesta, whom they made sure he drifted wide with each drive into the attacking zones.

Sanchez won two consecutive free kicks on the right side edge of the penalty box. He took the later around the wall, attracting a poor punched effort by Spain’s number one. The ricochet generously fell to Aranguiz who controlled and stabbed the ball past the diving Real Madrid keeper. Casillas was the chief culprit punching the ball directly into play rather than fist it long and wide.

Spain put in a man-sized performance at the beginning of the second half, winning the free-kicks outside the penalty area. Sergio Ramos took one pile driver that Bravo badly dealt with. He double-fisted the ball high to his left, where it was bicycle-kicked across the goalmouth to a free Busquets. The midfielder mysteriously squandered the opportunity with a yawning net at his nose.

With less than two thirds of the match left, Chile were coasting to a famous win and could have doubled the first half score line but they wasted two beautiful chances after counter attacking moves. They played with confidence and authority as the champions faded quietly and softly.

Somehow, Ramos a red card for a clever kick of the opponent while retracting his foot after clearing a ball. Soon after, Chile let Spain off the hook yet again when three players took turns to waste chances in an embarrassing fashion. Mena, Isla and Gutierrez extravagantly spurned what could have supped the already depleted energy levels of the Spanish. It was more of mental fatigue than energy loss as the revered Europeans tucked their tails between their legs.

Spain became the first reigning champions to lose two consecutive matches in the Fifa World Cup. It was, however, the triumph of the Chilean master plan, which bordered around retention of the ball, quick recovery of possession, physical combating in midfield with many players around the ball, starving Iniesta of the ball, showing the Spanish wingers down the touchline, deny crosses and then choking the central position What a show by Chile and why don’t they go on and win this thing? If you can dismantle the champions like this, why not? Not even the Dutch could have survived this onslaught.    

Chile 3 Australia 1; 2014 Fifa World Cup Analysis

This was one match expected to have many goals given the experience of the South Americans over the Asians better known for rugby and cricket. However, the similarity of styles at the beginning, each team employing a textbook 1-4-2-3-1 saw the match being an open affair with clear-cut lines between units and the intentions of each team clear.

Chile were technically superior, quick in take-off, accurate in passing, positive in ball reception, incisive in penetration and effective in wing play. They strived to be first on the ball and take on the Australians.

The Socceroos showed some tactical discipline in maintaining their shape under pressure, determined to give as much as they took by getting behind the ball early while keeping the defensive line at the edge of the penalty box.

The first moment the Chileans breached that line, they scored. The ball was sent into the right channel of the box, sent across goal, received by the winger who drew out the goalkeeper on the by-line, sold him a dummy and deftly crossed the ball which was headed to Alexis Sanchez who controlled it, and quickly side-footed it past a defender obscuring the view of the goalkeeper behind him. The keeper’s reflex was only enough to touch the goal-bound shot for the first goal.

The crosser was not pressurised enough, and the cross was not headed clear and wide by the taller Aussies while the tight-marking was not duly employed in the box. The midfield had failed to cut off that supply after they adjusted their shape to a 1-4-1-4-1, suddenly the four midfielders beaten by a single pass.

Utilising the emotional drain caused by the goal, Chile stabbed home again. That midfield job failure on the right side was exposed again as the ball was quickly fed to Sanchez who neatly threaded the ball to Valdivia. The defence was drawn out and sucked into the ball by over-shifting to its left , leaving the central defensive position gapping. The defenders failed to communicate to watch their blind side and the goalkeeper did not command the backline to stay put and see both the third man running and the ball as they just ball-watched.

Valdivia controlled the ball with the outside of his right foot as he set up himself for a shot. That excellent first touch enabled him to make a curly scoop that was powerful enough to rise over the keeper and lower under the cross bar.

There was no consistency in the tucking in of the Aussie defence as the spaces began to show at the back. They screened and shifted well but the pace of the nibble-footed Chileans was a shade too quick for them. Chile began to throw bodies forward in almost a 1-2-3-2-3 formation with the goalkeeper sweeping. To be honest with Australia, they were just too poor in the final third. They tried counter-attacks that made them even spongier. The lack of inroads into the Chilean defence and the goals psychologically visibly drained the Socceroos tremendously.    

The frantic Chilean attacks exposed their back as they were hit by a counter attack from the left. The ball was flighted into the box for Leckie to fluff the opportunity and the ball was pushed to the centre line on the right, where it was won by a committed sliding tackle, pushed into midfield and then wide again to a crossing position. The driven cross was met by Tim Cahill who leaped high in the midst of three defenders, to jerk-knife the powerful header past a desperate goalkeeper who had no chance to deal with ball the cross and the second ball.

Australia became content for a while, failing to close the passing lines and without employing triangulation to deal with the pace of Chile. They let too many passes pass through the units with ease. They were not combative enough in midfield and they were almost punished with each attack.

There was growth in confidence and willpower in the second half as they asked all the questions but they moved into offside positions a shade too early, and were denied goals by good keeper heroics. Each passing phase that they threatened the goal gave them the impetus to soldier on and search for an equaliser. They competed and engaged in duels and creating space for Cahill between central defenders.

At the conclusion of the match, an attack from the right attracted a central defender to dive into a tackle and the ball being played to an unmarked player in a central position, whose first shot was blocked by an on-rushing keeper. The ricochet was ferociously met by a man from midfield who shot from the edge of the 18-yard box with his left foot, a hard and low screamer to conclude a wonderful spectacle of the beautiful game. This was the best-officiated match of the 2014 Fifa World Cup so far. The referee was African.