Prediction: Chile vs Brazil

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 9/10

Bookmaker: 888sport

Domestic football has been put on pause for a few weeks in favour of the return of the international break – the first one of the new campaign. In the wake of the Euros and Copa America, as well as the Olympics, many would expect this to be a fairly inconsequential few weeks. Alas, the pandemic has ensured we have to speed up the process on the road to Qatar with Chile and Brazil being two of the ten South American nations attempting to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Chile

The days of consecutive Copa America triumphs appear to be in the rear-view mirror for a Chile side that is struggling to find its identity. They aren’t scoring many goals, they’re involved in some dull games and they aren’t showcasing the sort of urgency required when you’re trying to qualify for a tournament as big as the World Cup. They need to start investing in their youth more because if they don’t, this could be a troublesome post-golden generation period for the Chileans.

Brazil

Brazil have been hunting for another World Cup triumph for almost 20 years now and while they’ve come close in many instances, they won’t be happy with this drought and will be adamant about putting an end to it in Qatar. They came close to capturing the Copa America this year before falling short and after that, their youth proved why they’ve got such a positive future thanks to some success at the Summer Olympics.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting earlier this year, Brazil beat Chile 1-0 in the Copa America quarter-finals.
• Brazil are in 1st place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with 18 points.
• Chile are in 7th place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with 6 points.
• Chile have scored four goals and conceded six in their last six games.
• Brazil have scored nine goals and conceded three in their last six games.

Conclusion

Chile seem to be crawling back inside their shell somewhat right now and while they do need to come out firing in order to really make a claim for a place in the World Cup, we just don’t think they’ll be able to do it against a Brazil side that seems to be looking better than they have done in a long time. We expect this to be a pretty close encounter but in the end, the Brazilians will come away with a narrow 1-0 win to keep them clear at the top of the qualifying pile.

Prediction: Brazil win

Best Odds: 9/10

Bookmaker: 888sport