Chile vow to keep faith with attacking philosophy
NELSPRUIT - Chile captain Claudio Bravo said his team would not renege on their attacking philosophy in their final Group H match against Spain, even though they need only a draw to be sure of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup.
Chile arrived in South Africa with a reputation for exciting football having scored a hatful of goals in the qualifiers, and although they have only scored twice in their opening two matches, they have created numerous chances.
According to FIFA statistics, they had 40 shots in those first two games - the third highest total in the tournament behind Spain and Argentina.
Marcelo Bielsa's side regularly start with three forwards and are likely to do so again against Spain in Pretoria on Friday.
"The thing is, that's the way we practice, we don't train to go out and draw, it wouldn't make any sense," Bravo said.
"We're not going to change the way we play just because a certain result would be good for us or not. We'll die by our ideas - the same ideas as always."
Central defender Waldo Ponce echoed the words of his captain.
"We've never changed our playing style. We play the same way in our friendlies, in the matches against the reserves here in training and that's the best way to take on a great team. Our coach would never tell us to go out and play for a draw, because it never works out like that."
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Chile will qualify for the last 16 if they win or draw against Spain. If they lose, their future in the competition will depend on the outcome of Friday's other Group H clash between Switzerland and Honduras.