Verdict: Under 3,5 goals yes
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Chile and Denmark will meet for the second time in their history, in what will be a massive game for both countries. Chile will try to confirm all the good things they evidenced against Sweden last week, while Denmark will try to take another step in the right direction in their 2018 World Cup preparations after winning 1-0 over Panama the last time out.
Denmark
Denmark are coming off a 1-0 win over Panama in their most recent friendly, but players and pundits were not happy with the team s performance. In fact, Tottenham s star Christian Eriksen said the team should have closed the game out sooner against the CONCACAF side, so they will likely try to play at a higher level here. Even though the team needed a playoff tie against Northern Ireland to clinch a spot in Russia, Denmark look like a decent bet to get out of their group, and will likely fight for second place in Group C against Peru and Australia. Unfortunately for them, their recent results have not been very good since they lost to both Jordan and Sweden before narrowly topping Panama this past week. And considering Chile will be their toughest test to date, Denmark will need to be at their best to get a positive result.
Team News
Denmark will have three absentees ahead of this game.
Andreas Bjelland, Henrik Dalsgaard and Andreas Christensen have been discarded by the coaching staff. In fact, these absences forced manager Åge Hareide to call-up Peter Ankersen (FC Copenhagen) and Lasse Nielsen (Malmo FF) as replacements.
Chile
Surprisingly, Chile did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup despite the fact they won the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, and finished second in the 2017 Confederations Cup. A negative run down the stretch in the Qualifiers saw them lose three of the final four games, including key games against Paraguay at home and Bolivia on the road. That failure caused Juan Antonio Pizzi to leave the side, and Colombian tactician Reinaldo Rueda took over. The early returns on Rueda s process were pretty good, as Chile delivered a strong performance on both ends of the pitch to escape with a 2-1 win over Sweden. Denmark will likely pose a more complicated opponent and there is a chance Chile mixes the team a bit, but the first game already showed decent returns of a team that is deep enough to remain as a CONMEBOL contender for years to come.
Team News
Chile will have several absentees ahead of this game.
Claudio Bravo rejected the call-up, and players such as Gonzalo Jara, Marcelo Diaz and Jorge Valdivia did not make the squad either. Gary Medel will return after missing the match against Sweden due to a suspension. Striker Felipe Mora, however, is out with an injury.
Key Factors to Consider
These two sides met back in 2009, and Chile won that game 2-1. Esteban Paredes and Alexis Sanchez scored for Chile, while Lasse Schone scored for Denmark.
Chile are one of the biggest teams that won t play in the upcoming World Cup. They finished sixth in the CONMEBOL standings, and failed to clinch a playoff spot solely based on their goal differential.
Meanwhile, Sweden clinched a World Cup berth after eliminating Northern Ireland in the UEFA World Cup Playoffs. They won the tie thanks to an impressive hat-trick from Christian Eriksen that paved the way for a 5-1 rout.
Denmark are coming off a 1-0 win in their latest friendly against Panama, while Chile defeated Sweden 2-1.
This will be the second game for Chile s new manager Reinaldo Rueda. He previously qualified both Honduras and Ecuador to the World Cup. Will he do the same thing for Chile?
Conclusion
Both teams will enter this game looking to find alternatives on both ends of the pitch. Both sides tend to rely on their star players such as Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and Christian Eriksen, so this seems to be a good opportunity for both countries to test new things.
This game has the potential to be quite open, but the weather conditions (snow and showers) could complicate it. Therefore, I believe there will be under 3,5 goals scored.
Verdict: Under 3,5 goals yes
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