Two games to define Group A will be played on Friday. Rancagua and Santiago will be the venues…
Mexico vs. Ecuador
With two star defensemen out injured, Mexico will have to stop the fast forwards of Ecuador in Friday's final Group A match to ensure its minimum target of qualifying to the quarterfinals of the Copa America-2015.
"If we lose it is a total failure," stressed Mexico's coach in a press conference before the match. "Our goal is not the quarterfinals but the final," he reiterated.
Having observed the performance of both teams, Ecuadorian star Enner Valencia says Mexico is the favorite, the country where he plays for Pachuca.
"Mexico has not lost so far and we have lost the two games. But that all goes out the window on the pitch," said the West Ham striker.
Venezuelan José Argote will referee the match to be held in the El Teniente stadium, which seats 13,743 spectators.
Probable starting teams:
Mexico: José de Jesús Corona – Gerardo Flores, Hugo Ayala, Julio César Domínguez, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Efraín Velarde (or Marco Fabián) – Juan Carlos Medina, Javier Güemez, Jesús Corona – Matías Vuoso and Raúl Jiménez. Coach: Miguel Herrera.
Ecuador: Alexander Domínguez – Juan Carlos Paredes, Gabriel Achilier (or Arturo Mina), Frickson Erazo, Walter Ayoví – Fidel Martínez, Christian Noboa, Pedro Quiñónez, Jefferson Montero – Miler Bolaños and Enner Valencia. Coach: Gustavo Quinteros.
Statistics:
Ecuador vs. México
Four total matches.
Mexico is undefeated having won 3, scoring 7 goals and giving up 3. The other game finished in a draw in the quarterfinals of the 1997 edition which Mexico prevailed on penalties 4-3.
Except on one occasion, both teams have always scored. The only time one team didn't score was when Ecuador fell 2-0 in the semifinals in 1993.
Penalties: Both teams have had one chance and did not fail. Ecuadorian Luis Capurro scored in 1997 and Mexican Héctor Altamirano in 2004
First match: Ecuador 0 – Mexico 2 (Semifinal 1993)
Last match: Ecuador 1 – Mexico 2 (Group phase 2007)
Chile vs. Bolivia
Chile will give everything in hopes of qualifying.
Their rival Bolivia has shown they will not be easy prey as they also look to move on to the next round.
The game will be played on Friday at 8:30 pm local time (23:30 GMT) in the Nacional Stadium in Santiago.
The referee will be the Uruguayan Andrés Cunha assisted on the lines by his compatriots Mauricio Espinosa and Carlos Pastorino.
Probable starting teams:
Chile: Claudio Bravo – Marcelo Isla, Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara, Eugenio Mena – Marcelo Díaz, Charles Aránguiz, Arturo Vidal – Jorge Valdivia, Alexis Sánchez and Eduardo Vargas. Coach: Jorge Sampaoli.
Bolivia: Romel Quiñónez – Miguel Hurtado, Ronald Raldes, Edward Zenteno, Leonel Morales – Danny Bejarano, Martin Smedberg, Alejandro Chumacero, Damián Lizio – Ricardo Pedriel and Marcelo Martins. Coach: Mauricio Soria.
Statistics:
Bolivia vs. Chile
Twelve matches played.
Bolivia won 2 (16 goals), Chile 7 (41 goals) with 3 draws.
In the first 8 games Bolivia could only win one. The remarkable detail is that during this losing streak Bolivia conceded 29 goals, nearly 4 per game.
In only one of the 12 games, Chile did not score. It was a 0-0 draw in the 1967 edition.
Biggest win: Bolivia 1 (Teófilo Aguilar) – Chile 7 (David Arellano 3, Manuel Ramírez, Guillermo Subiabre and Humberto Moreno) in 1926
Penalties: Only one which was scored by Claudio Pizarro in the group phase of the 1989 edition.
First match: Bolivia 1 – Chile 7 (1926)
Last match: Bolivia 2 – Chile 2 (group phase 1995)
Design: DD/conmebol.com
Statistics: Eduardo Bolaños/conmebol.com
Edition: conmebol.com
