- Tournament debutants both eyeing a place on Sunday’s final
- Portugal’s Pepe misses game through suspension
- The two sides have conceded fewer goals than anyone else
Internet Desk: The reigning European champions meet the reigning two-time Copa America champions at the Kazan Arena at 21:00 (local time) on Wednesday to fight it out for a place in the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017.
Returning to the stadium where they played their opening match of the tournament, a 2-2 draw with Mexico, Portugal will be hoping Chile are still feeling the effects of their intense encounter with Australia and will be lacking their usual intensity. Though his side had an extra day of rest ahead of them, Fernando Santos chose not to bench any of his attackers against New Zealand, a decision that could yet come back to haunt him. It has been a long season for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho, Andre Gomes and Bernardo Silva, while Pepe will have to sit the game out after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. Whatever the make-up of the team that takes on La Roja, it is crucial they do not show too much respect to the South Americans and allow them to play their high-pace possession game.
One way of looking at Chile’s underwhelming display against Australia – their least impressive of the tournament so far – is that they will go into Wednesday’s semi-final more determined than ever to address the errors that led to them losing fluency and giving away possession so often. Another key factor will be the ability of the spine of their team to recover from their physical exertions, not least because Portugal are a side who ought to make more of the running than Chile’s group opponents did. Yet while La Roja may be feeling the pace, mentally they are as sharp as ever and ready for the challenge.