Uncertainty lingered in the air at Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos. On a night that promised a nationwide celebration, boosted by Javier Carcamo’s 27th-minute goal from outside the box, the match ended in heartbreak thanks to Omar Khedr’s wonder strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time. The shock defeat to the Egyptians first sparked tension and then relief as the nation took out its calculators and rulebooks to figure out its fate.
“I have mixed emotions to tell you the truth,” Agustin Arce, Chile’s No10, told FIFA. “It’s disappointing to have lost the match, but I’m also delighted we managed to qualify for the last 16, as that’s what we were aiming to do.”
Living up to the country’s hopes was no easy task for the young Chileans, who have borne the weight of national expectation throughout the tournament. The tears and outbursts of emotion from several players illustrated how much pressure they were under, both from themselves and others.
“This squad was hoping to qualify as group winners,” explained centre-back Nicolas Suarez. “Things didn’t pan out as we had hoped, and that’s where some of the frustration comes from. That said, we’re ready for the next round and intend to approach it with our heads held high. Whoever our opponent may be, we’ll give them a run for their money. I think we lost because of a lack of concentration. We put them under pressure in their half, but we switched off. We need to improve in the final third and make the most of all our chances.”
The Chilean youngsters were caught up in a whirlwind of emotion in the final minutes. Omar Khedr’s spectacular free-kick sent alarm bells ringing until the final message arrived. Even with defeat and the three-way tie in the group with Egypt and New Zealand, Chile finished runners-up due to a better team conduct score than Egypt. This score is obtained by combining the number of yellow and red cards received by players and their coaching staff.
Chile ended up with a score of -5 due to the five yellow cards they received during the whole tournament, winning the tiebreaker against Egypt, who received four yellow cards in their match against the South Americans alone, for a final score of -7.
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“We failed to finish our chances again and couldn’t put the game to bed,” Nicolas Cordova said in the mixed zone. “I’ve always stuck my neck out for everything I’ve done. Now we need to be ready in case we have to move to another host city and see what happens next. It was a shame how it ended. I think we put in another good performance, but we’re stuck feeling bitter about losing in the last minute.”
With a mixture of emotions lingering over the nation’s capital, Chile now await the outcome of Group C in an exciting conclusion that will see Mexico, Brazil and Spain compete for second. With Morocco already winning the group, any of the three teams could be the host side’s next opponent.
