Paraguay welcomed Chile into their humble abode in Asuncion for their match today. Chile announced their intentions early on as Arturo Vidal blasted a ball toward the upper ninety from outside the box, but a flying save by Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar was enough to knock the ball back into play off the outside post, from where it was cleared to safety. With five minutes to go in the half, Vidal saved a ball from rolling out for a goal kick and then passed to Esteban Paredes, who then side-footed a ball to Marcelo Diaz. Diaz turned and squared a ball to Eduardo Vargas, whose powerful shot found the back of the net from twenty yards out for the opener. Chile led 1-0 at halftime.
Ten minutes after the restart, Chile were able to double their lead. Alexis Sanchez hesitated a step outside the box and then played a beautiful chip through ball to Vidal, who managed to flick the ball on goal while performing a feet-first slide. Chile now had a two-goal lead to see through to the finish. Chile's three-man backline was holding firm, and the three-man forward line was doing quite some damage. Paraguay did not go quietly, however. Edgar Benitez had his goalbound shot deflected just wide of the post, leaving Paraguay to settle for a corner. Matias Fernandez almost gave Chile a third on a free kick, but Villar was able to push the ball over the crossbar. Chilean center back Marcos Gonzalez made a terrible pass in his own half straight to Roque Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz dribbled back on a two-on-two break and finished himself to make the score 2-1. Chile hold on and win by that 2-1 scoreline.
Goals
Chile
Eduardo Vargas 41
Arturo Vidal 54
Paraguay
Roque Santa Cruz 88
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