If the World Cup didn’t exactly catch fire on Wednesday there were at least signs of a bit of warmth, and one of Chile’s young guns caught the eye.
The commentators and pundits had been so starved of anything to shout about in the first five days of the World Cup that when Chile started passing the ball with some verve against Honduras, everyone was purring.
If the reaction was more than a bit OTT – the Hondurans provided as much resistance as a cat in a cannon – Chile were definitely one of the most satisfying sides to watch. At least until they got to the edge of the area and set things up for misfiring centre forward Juan Beausejour, who scored the winning goal only after a Honduran defender whacked an attempted clearance against his midriff.
Alexis Sanchez’s performance was a long way from flawless but it was certainly eye-catching. An energetic and skilful little right winger, he combined brilliantly with full back Mauricio Isla virtually from first whistle till last. That shouldn’t be surprising – the pair play alongside one another for Udinese in Serie A.
Sanchez’s touch and movement, which benefited greatly from the probing midfield play of Matias Fernandez and Jorge Valdivia, marked him out as one to watch for the remainder of a tournament in which the Chileans look like having a big part to play – their Group H closer against Spain already has the hallmarks of a make-or-break encounter follow the Spaniards’ blip against Switzerland later in the day.
Sanchez is not the finished article. On the evidence of the game against Honduras, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
The 21-year-old’s decision-making left a lot to be desired – on more than one occasion he took on a shot when a pass looked a better option. Which brings us to his second major flaw: his shooting was uniformly awful.
Still, his trickery tied the Hondurans up in knots and if he can show something similar against the Swiss and Spain, he’ll be on the radar of some of the continent’s biggest clubs coming the middle of next month.
Potential suitors – Real Madrid, Milan, Inter
Sanchez’s next step – particularly if he enjoys a productive World Cup – is going to take him into the stratosphere. Having made such a name for himself at Udinese, he’s already rated in the €10-€15m bracket .
Real Madrid have already been linked with a move but having performed so promisingly in Italy he could well stay there – Rafa Benitez will be desperate to add some fresh blood to the ageing squad he has inherited at Inter, while there will also be a major rebuilding process under way in the same city, where the rossoneri will also be starting life under a new coach following the departure of Leonardo.
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