2014 World Cup – Group B
Netherlands vs Chile
Arena Corinthians – São Paulo, Brazil
Monday, June 23, 2014, 12:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN, Univision
Money Line: Chile +170 / Netherlands +160 / Draw +245
Point Line: Netherlands Pick -120 / Chile Pick Even
Total: over 2.5 -130 / under 2.5 +110
All odds courtesy of Bookmaker
Groups A and B complete group play on Monday and the top two in each group will play each other in the knockout round. Group B is much more simple than Group A. In Group B, the Netherlands and Chile have both already advanced to the knockout stage, as they play in Sao Paulo Monday.
Both have beaten Australia and defending World Cup champion Spain. The Netherlands will win the Group with a win or a draw, and Chile must win to secure first place in the group. The Netherlands beat Spain 5-1 and Australia 3-2 for a goal differential of +5. Chile beat Australia 3-1 and Spain 2-0 for a goal differential of +4. It is unclear who they will play in the knockout round as Brazil, Mexico and Croatia are still alive for the two spots and each can still win the group.
Netherlands and Chile have only met one time in history. For what it’s worth they played to a 2-2 draw in the the 1928 Olympics.
After crushing Spain 5-1 to open the World Cup (the team that beat them in the 2010 World Cup final), some expected a little bit of a hangover against Australia last Wednesday in Porto Alegre. That seemed to be the case even though the Dutch scored first 20 minutes into the game on Arjen Robben’s third goal of the World Cup. Tin Cahill tied it up for Australia a minute later. The 1-1 score would hold until halftime. Australia took a 2-1 lead at 54 minutes on a goal from Mile Jedinak. The Netherlands equalized 4 minutes later on Robin Van Persie’s third goal of the tournament. At 68 minutes, Memphis Depay scored what would be the game winner for the Netherlands.
The Netherlands had 15 shots and 14 on goal, and Australia had 10 and 8. The Netherlands had 25 fouls to 18 for Australia. The Dutch has possession for 52% of the time. Australia had 3 corners to 2 for the Netherlands. Each side was called for offsides once.
Chile and Spain played last Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro. Chile struck first 20 minutes in on a goal from Eduardo Vargas. Charles Aranguiz made it 2-0 Chile at 43 minutes. Neither team would score again as the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage.
Spain had 15 shots including 9 on goal. Chile had just 7 shots including 4 on goal. Fouls were 15-14 for Chile. Spain had 7 corners to 1 for Chile. Chile had 2 offsides to 1 for Spain.
The Netherlands is coached by Louis van Gaal. He will use a 4-3-3 line-up. Forward Robin Van Persie will miss the match after getting two yellow cards so far in the tournament. Defender Bruno Martins Indi is also out with a concussion. Van Persie and Arjen Robben have scored 6 of the 8 goals so far for the Netherlands. Memphis Depay will likely start in place of Van Persie. Keeper Jasper Cillisen has allowed 3 goals in two games.
Chile is managed by Jorge Sampaoli. Chile will use a 3-4-1-2 formation. Chile has injury concerns of their own as midfielders Arturo Vidal and Charles Aranguiz both missed training on Friday. Carlos Carmona and/or Jorge Valdivia could replace either starter if one or both of them can’t go. Eduardo is the top goal scoring threat. Keeper Claudio Bravo has allowed one goal in two matches.
Both of these teams could rest their starters as they have both clinched a berth already in the knockout round. However, the group winner will likely face either Croatia or Mexico assuming Brazil beats or draws Cameroon. The Netherlands has been dominant on offense but the loss of Van Persie hurts. I think this game will end in a 2-2 draw.
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