Spain ensured they finished top of Group H and avoided the threat of an early exit from the World Cup after securing a 2-1 success over Chile in a fiery contest in Pretoria.
After a sticky start to the game, the European champions took the lead in the 24th minute through David Villa's long-range effort into an open net after Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had rushed out of the area to clear Xabi Alonso's long ball.
The game then looked dead and buried 13 minutes later when Andrés Iniesta bagged a second before Chile were reduced to 10 men after Marco Estrada's dismissal for a foul on Fernando Torres in the build-up to the goal.
Chile substitute Rodrigo Millar pulled one back for the South American team with a deflected shot in the 47th minute, but it was not enough for Marcelo Bielsa's side to snatch back top-spot.
Spain will now face neighbours Portugal on Tuesday at Cape Town's Green Point Stadium, while Chile will tackle South American rivals Brazil at Ellis Park on Monday for a place in the last eight.
Lineups:
Chile: Claudio Bravo; Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Waldo Ponce, Gonzalo Jara; Arturo Vidal, Marco Estrada, Mark González (Rodrigo Millar, 46); Alexis Sánchez (Fabián Orellana, 65), Jorge Valdivia (Esteban Paredes, 46), Jean Beausejour
Spain: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso (Javi Martínez, 73); Andrés Iniesta, Fernando Torres (Cesc Fàbregas, 55), David Villa
Statistics:
Also see:
After a sticky start to the game, the European champions took the lead in the 24th minute through David Villa's long-range effort into an open net after Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had rushed out of the area to clear Xabi Alonso's long ball.
The game then looked dead and buried 13 minutes later when Andrés Iniesta bagged a second before Chile were reduced to 10 men after Marco Estrada's dismissal for a foul on Fernando Torres in the build-up to the goal.
Chile substitute Rodrigo Millar pulled one back for the South American team with a deflected shot in the 47th minute, but it was not enough for Marcelo Bielsa's side to snatch back top-spot.
Spain will now face neighbours Portugal on Tuesday at Cape Town's Green Point Stadium, while Chile will tackle South American rivals Brazil at Ellis Park on Monday for a place in the last eight.
Lineups:
Chile: Claudio Bravo; Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Waldo Ponce, Gonzalo Jara; Arturo Vidal, Marco Estrada, Mark González (Rodrigo Millar, 46); Alexis Sánchez (Fabián Orellana, 65), Jorge Valdivia (Esteban Paredes, 46), Jean Beausejour
Spain: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Joan Capdevila; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso (Javi Martínez, 73); Andrés Iniesta, Fernando Torres (Cesc Fàbregas, 55), David Villa
Statistics:
| Chile | Spain | |
| 1 | Goals | 2 |
| 3 | Shots on target | 4 |
| 3 | Shots off target | 5 |
| 3 | Corners | 4 |
| 22 | Fouls | 12 |
| 3 | Offsides | 1 |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| 1 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 42 | Ball possession (%) | 58 |
Please subscribe to our RSS feed to receive more updates. You can also subscribe by Email and enjoy our latest posts sent directly to your inbox.
Also see:
