Soccer Ticket Broker > Chile Ticket

After a twelve-year absence, Chile is topping off their recent resurgence by returning to the FIFA World Cup finals at South Africa 2010. Missing from the international stage ever since France 1998, when Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano showcased their impeccable finishing skills, La Roja (The Red One) believe they once again possess the talent recreate the success of their distinguished predecessors and advance beyond the group phase.

Coached by experienced Argentinean Marcelo Bielsa, El Equipo de Todos (Everybody's Team) qualified for the finals in seemingly easy fashion, thus making up for poor performances in prior qualifiers for Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006, where they finished ninth and seventh respectively. Bielsa's squad, the youngest of all the South American teams, finished second in the continental qualifying group, merely one point behind Brazil. That performance, Chile's best since the group format was introduced, was finished off in style with a spectacular 4-2 road victory over Colombia, resulting with La Roja's guaranteed return to the world's elite with one game still remaining.

All in all, Chile would win sixteen of their thirty-three points away from Santiago, an impressive statistic which emphasizes the determination of this squad. Raising expectations even higher is the fact that the ever-attacking Chileans ended qualifying group play as the second-leading scoring club with 32 goals, including ten from top striker Humberto Suazo, while notching ten wins overall – more than any of their continental foes.

As one may assume about a tight team which likes to get on the attack every chance they get, Chile's star performers are to be found in forward positions. Leading the front line with distinction are attackers Suazo and Matias Fernandez from their forward positions, joined by Alexis Sanchez in the mid-field to make up the trio who teamed up successfully for domestic club giants Colo Colo in 2006 before going their separate ways.

Fernandez, the strategist, and the immensely talented Sanchez form part of a new breed of Chilean footballer, anxious to build reputations abroad, while the more experienced Suazo is a lethal finisher with the uncanny ability of always being in the right place at the right time.