Australia has played down its chances of going past Chile in their Group B encounter on Saturday.
Several members of the Socceroos squad have come out to say all the pressure is on Chile and the other two group opponents, Spain and Netherlands, to win and advance to the next stage.
All of Australia’s talk could be seen as playing mind games, but they have singled out some positives ahead of the start of soccer’s greatest showpiece. They deem their early arrival in Brazil as a boost to their preparations, as they have enough time to acclamatise.
Truth is, statistically, Chile enjoys an outright domination over Australia. The two teams have played a total four matches, with Chile winning three and drawing one. The drawn game was the only time when the teams met in a World Cup encounter.
With Chile’s midfield maestro Arturo Vidal nursing an injury, this could compromise Chile in its World Cup opener. Vidal, a dead-ball specialist, can only pray for a speedy recovery.
As it stands, Chile has an upper hand on the Socceroos.
– By Tshepo Tsheole
