#2 Chile still stuck in the lurch
Winning the Copa America on home soil marked a special occasion in the country’s 99-year history as it was their first ever international trophy. It was prognosticated to be the start of a new era in Latin-America, but Chile have been light years away from proving it.
Post the triumph, the Reds have won only 4 times in the next 10 games, losing 5 of their 6 including 3 in succession after the latest setback. This abysmal run of results has put manager Juan Antonio Pizzi, who succeeded Jorge Sampaoli this January, in a wringer.
Chile have looked very predictable under him and have lost the verve with which they romped to the Copa America title just 12 months ago. Now the defeat on the opening day in the Centenario edition mounts some serious pressure on him and on the defending champions.
Although Panama and Bolivia shouldn’t prove to be tough for them to progress, their performance this year suggests it won’t be long enough when they’ll be dethroned as champions.
