David Villa of Spain celebrates scoring the opening goal with team mates Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Group H match between Chile and Spain at Loftus Versfeld StadiumJasper Juinen
It was the best and worst of soccer: fire and determination in the first 70 minutes, followed by a cozy arrangement to fix the score in the final 20 minutes. The result was advancement for Spain and Chile, but both teams will now face formidable foes in their next matches.
Spain, which finished first in its group by defeating Chile 2-1 on Friday night, will now face Portugal, ranked third in the world, in its next match in the knockout round. Chile must grapple with an even more powerful rival, top-ranked Brazil, in its knockout match.
Both teams went through to the next round because Switzerland failed to score a goal in its 0-0 draw with Honduras, which was happening simultaneously. As the match wore on, it became very obvious that both teams were carefully watching the Switzerland score, knowing that the Swiss were their only rival for the final two spots in the knockout round.
The result was a match that began frantically and eventually deteriorated into a blatant display of time-wasting and indifference. With the score 2-1 and Chile shorthanded because of a red card, both sides knew they would advance unless Switzerland scored two goals against Honduras.
A thrilling first half, showcasing the pure talent of Spain and the passion of Chile, was followed by an increasingly lethargic and nonchalant second half that demonstrated the worst of the World Cup playoff system, with both teams content to bat around the ball lazily at midfield until time ran out.
Entering the match, after the shocking exits by winless Italy and France, some wondered if Spain would be the next giant to be toppled. Doubts had been stirred by Spain's embarrassing 1-0 loss to Switzerland in its opening match. Chile had won both of its matches, and Spain could have been the third European power to tumble to disgrace if Chile and Switzerland had both won their games on Friday night.
But Spain came roaring out of the gate with all guns blazing. Within 37 minutes, the world's second-ranked team was leading 2-0 and seemed in total control, despite dogged counterattacks from the Chileans.
Spain's first goal was a product of a terrible miscalculation by Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Spotting a loose ball, he raced recklessly far from his goal, trying to beat Spain's Fernando Torres to the ball. He succeeded in batting it away, but the ball fell directly at the feet of Spanish forward David Villa, with the goal empty and Bravo far out of position. Villa merely had to lob the ball over Bravo and into the net from 45 metres away.
Just 13 minutes later, Spain scored again, and it featured another key play by Villa, who had also scored both of his team's goals in its victory over Honduras on Monday. On a rush down the left side, Villa took the ball deep in the corner, but passed it back to Andres Iniesta, all alone at the edge of the box, who fired it home.
On that same play, Chile faced another disaster - a second yellow card and ejection to Marco Estrada, who had clipped Torres on the other side of the pitch. It was unclear whether it was intentional, but Chile was forced to play shorthanded for the rest of the match.
Early in the second half, Chile managed to fight back. Rodrigo Millar, coming on as a second-half substitute, fired a ball from just outside the area that took a sharp deflection off a Spanish defender. Spanish keeper Iker Casillas was completely wrongfooted by the deflection and had little chance.
With its loss, Chile became - amazingly -- the first South American team to lose a game in this World Cup. But by eliminating Switzerland and advancing to the second round, Chile continued the trend of South American dominance at this tournament, with teams like Brazil and Argentina now looking like the frontrunners to win it all.