Mexico vs. Chile
Copa America Centenario – Quarterfinal 4 (C1/D2)
June 18 | 10 pm ET | Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
TV: FX, UniMás, UDN
Group C winner Mexico will look to continue their hot start to the tournament when they take on a Chile side that locked up the final quarterfinal berth.
Mexico were tied for the second most points in group play after wins over Uruguay and Jamaica and a draw with Venezuela. Chile finished with six points, knocking off Panama and Bolivia but losing to Argentina.
Chicharito vs. Alexis
There are few more exciting players in this tournament than Mexico’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Chile’s Alexis Sánchez. And perhaps predictably, both have made an impact at Copa thus far, with Chicharito bagging his 45th goal for his country during Mexico’s 2-0 win over Jamaica and helping to kickstart the offense as a second-half sub vs. Venezuela. Alexis, meanwhile, saved his best for the end of group play with the Arsenal forward scoring twice in Chile’s crucial 4-2 win over Panama on Tuesday. Will one – or both – of the stars be able to find the back of the net again in the quarters?
Red-Hot El Tri
Mexico's 1-1 draw vs. Venezuela was still enough for them to win their group – and it also featured an absolutely brilliant game-tying goal from Jesus Manuel Corona. Still, it might have upset some Mexico fans that have gotten used to a whole lot of winning. In fact, that result marked the first time in the 10 games played under head coach Juan Carlos Osorio that El Tri didn’t win. The surging Mexicans now take that impressive 9-0-1 record into the quarterfinals, eyeing three more victories to capture the Copa crown.
Defending champs
Chile won the 2015 Copa America on their home turf, beating Argentina in the final on penalties for their first South American title. But a year later, the Chileans lost their first Copa game to Argentina before riding a controversial injury-time penalty to beat Bolivia in its next game. And in La Roja’s 4-2 win over Panama, Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo made a couple of mistakes to gift Panama a pair of goals. Chile will certainly need to show some improvements to beat Mexico and keep any hopes they might still have of defending their Copa title alive.
