CHILE TAKE ON ENGLAND

Chile will be taking on England in a friendly match, which will be one of the very few that the South American team has before the start of the World Cup 2014.

This will be an acid test for the team according to Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli. Sampaoli has managed to transform the fortunes of the Chile team in the last few years. They are now regarded as one of the strongest teams from South America particularly due to the presence of players like Alex Sanchez. Chile qualified for the World Cup following their win over Ecuador.

The South American qualifying campaign is regarded as one of the toughest in the world right now, but the fact that Chile qualified means that they should be considered as a real threat according to England manager Roy Hodgson. Chile’s next two friendly matches will be against Brazil and England.

Sampaoli says that his two matches will give a good idea of the team’s quality as they head into the World Cup. Even though these are just friendly matches, the 53-year-old has stated that he does not want any mistakes from his team and they should think that the World Cup starts from this match onwards.

“These next two friendly games, against top world sides like Brazil and England, will give us an idea of where we are and how we’re going to compete in the World Cup. They are very, very important. We know those two sides are going to give us a real stiff test. Any mistakes you make, they don’t let you off. For me, the World Cup starts on Friday. England are always considered one of the top sides in the world in the FIFA rankings,” Sampaoli said.

Chile are undefeated in all competitions since March of 2013 including matches against Spain.