
Chile's Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Jorge Valdivia Must Break Down Uruguay
Chilean hearts will be in Chilean mouths on Wednesday night, when they take on Uruguay at Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
It's the tournament's strongest attacking force pitted against the meanest central defensive partnership.
Statistically speaking, tournament hosts La Roja do have the most fearsome forward line, having fired 10 goals past Ecuador, Mexico and Bolivia.
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Colombia technically have the best defensive unit as a whole, but Uruguay have only shipped two goals and no centre-back pair are better than Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.

The pair have forged a strong relationship at club level, with Atletico Madrid, and that is paying dividends now for Oscar Tabarez and the Celeste.
Atletico boss Diego Simeone used the 20-year-old 26 times last season, despite how effective the combination of Godin and Joao Miranda was the season before.
Gimenez struck a better bond with his compatriot Godin than the Brazilian and that now looks to be Atletico's most impressive defensive pairing.
It's what Chile have to break down in the Copa America quarter-final clash, and it won't be easy.

They are ably assisted by Fernando Muslera behind them, with Maxi and Alvaro Pereira offering support from the sides.
Uruguay's defence and midfield are solid, but where they fall short is up front.
Edinson Cavani had endured an awful tournament with Christian Stuani and Abel Hernandez equally disappointing when asked to feature.
Diego Rolan is the only forward who has impressed, but he's been playing in a deeper role and was responsible for a dreadful miss against Argentina.
With the news that Cavani might not be selected against Chile because of a traffic accident involving his father, per the Daily Mail, Rolan might get a chance further up the field.

Chile will be confident about keeping their opponents at bay but know that scoring themselves might prove difficult.
Some of the interplay between Jorge Valdivia, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal has been quite phenomenal and if they continue, then even Godin and Gimenez will suffer.
Alexis is the figurehead, the explosive player who can change a game with one burst forward, one long-range effort.

He has found goals tough to come by, only directly responsible for one of his team's many strikes.
That was a beautiful play, stooping to head home a Valdivia cross from a move he started himself, but his overall influence extends far beyond his goalscoring contribution.
Valdivia, too, has been a crucial part of Chile's attacking verve. He plays with flair and style, but also sense.
It must be a dream for his team-mates to be on the end of so many clever, perfectly weighted passes.


And Chile's best player so far this tournament, Arturo Vidal. Bar one shameful off-field drink-driving indiscretion, which saw him crash his Ferrari, it has been a wonderful fortnight for the midfielder.
He was the man that scored Chile's first goal of the tournament, in the 2-0 win over Ecuador, before adding two more against Mexico in the 3-3 draw.
Vidal only played half of La Roja's last group game, against Bolivia, but with the team already in the quarter-finals, coach Jorge Sampaoli gave him a rest.
There have been other excellent performers in this Chile side, from Claudio Bravo in goal to Mauricio Isla, to Gary Medel.
But Vidal, Valdivia and Alexis carry the hopes of the nation on their shoulders and by keeping the momentum going against Uruguay, they can return those Chilean hearts from mouths to chests.



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