Tag: Chile

Chile confirms a friendly match vs. Iran

Jorge Sampaoli’s team will head to Austria for penultimate friendly before Copa América squad is announced

Chile have announced that they are to take on Iran in a friendly at the end of March. The match was supposed to be played in Sweden but the host nation’s FA objected to the venue as it claimed it will clash with the later match between Sweden and Iran on 31st of March.

Jorge Sampaoli’s men will travel to Austria for the match which will take place at the NV Arena in St Pölten on Thursday, March 26.

La Roja have played Iran twice previously in friendlies; winning a 1972 meeting 2-1, before drawing 1-1 in a match played in Hong Kong in 1998.

The forthcoming encounter forms part of a double-header of fixtures – the final international dates before Sampaoli names his squad for the Copa América.

Three days after facing Iran, La Roja will play South American rivals Brazil at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London.

Chile will host this summer’s Copa América and have been drawn in Group A alongside Mexico, Ecuador and Bolivia.

Chile friendly in doubt after Swedish FA objection!

Team Melli’s match against Chile has been put in doubt after the Swedish FA opposed the proposed match on Swedish territory.

Iran was schedule to play two football friendly internationals with Chile on 25th of March and Sweden on the 31st. Both matches would have been in Sweden. However , the Swedish FA thinks that the earlier arranged match between Iran and Chile might adversely effect the attendance of the Sweden vs. Iran match especially if Team Melli is handsomely beaten by the Latin Americans! Such result will diminish the interest in the match , according to Swedish FA.

So , for commercial reasons and in order to maximize the sales of match tickets , Swedish FA prefers to have full and exclusive attention on the match between Sweden and Iran and not divert focus on other Iranian football activities.

With this dilemma, the Iranian side is actively seeking an alternative venue against Chile. Austria is one of the proposed countries and a place where security clearance for the match can be issued without much hassle. The negotiations are still going on with the Austrian side for the Iran vs. Chile match to be switched to Vienna or other Austrian venues.

Team Melli to face Chile & Sweden in friendly matches.

Team Melli will be playing against Chile in Sweden as part of a European tour which will see the team play two strong matches against quality opponents. On 25th March , Team Melli will face Chile , then on the 31 March against Sweden.

Alexis Sanchez

This is a great chance for Iranian solid defense to test it strength against two of the world’s best forwards , Chile’s Alexis Alejandro Sánchez, the hottest property in thew English Football league who has transformed Arsenal attack, and in Sweden , one of the most world’s most lethal and artistic goalscorers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Paris St. Germain.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Chile and Brazil will meet in an international friendly at the Emirates Stadium on 29 March.

The Swedish FA  website has confirmed the match to be played in Swedbank Arena, Solna in Stockholm , while other sources are mentioning the Sweden v. Iran match to be held in ya Ullevi Stadion Gothenburg (SkySports)

 

Belo Horizonte avoids World Cup delays.

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Belo Horizonte was one of the first Brazilian cities to be ready for the World Cup, avoiding the delays that marked the preparations of nearly all other host cities.

Matches will be played at the renovated Mineirao Stadium, one of Brazil’s most revered football venues. It was inaugurated in December 2012, and was one of the two (along with Fortaleza’s Castelao Stadium) not to miss FIFA’s deadline for the Confederations Cup.

The venue was used in the semifinals of the World Cup warm-up tournament, when Brazil beat Uruguay to stay on track to eventually win the title.

The Mineirao will seat more than 62,000 fans and will host four group matches: Colombia vs. Greece on June 14; Belgium vs. Algeria on June 17; Argentina vs. Iran on June 21; and Costa Rica vs. England on June 24. It will also host a match in the round of 16 on June 28, possibly with Brazil playing, and a semifinal match on July 8.

The southeastern city, which is also home to the training camps of Argentina and Chile, is filled with football tradition, fueled by the rivalry between Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro, two of the country’s most successful clubs.