2010 FIFA World Cup: Zambia a Major Tuneup Match for Chile Before Cup

After suffering a 1-0 loss to Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on May 16, Chile will now play a major tuneup match at the Estadio Municipal de Calama.

Tonight, Chile's opponent will be Zambia, a nation that currently is ranked 71st in the FIFA World Rankings, and is playing their only match for the next several months in Chile.

Along with that, this will be Zambia's first trip to the Western Hemisphere for a football match since 1999, where Zambia lost 7-1 to Honduras.

Also, Zambia have been less consistent since their former coach Renard went to Angola after the African Cup of Nations back in January.

But with the uncertainty of the head coaching situation, Zambia arrived a day late to Chile from South Africa after missing their flight, which will certainly play into this match.

For Zambia, the player to watch will be Chris Katongo , who helped lead Zambia's surprising run to the quarterfinals of January's African Cup of Nations.

Meanwhile for Chile, they have had five players already axed from their original 30 man World Cup squad, and this friendly will certainly be the deciding factor for the final two people cut from the Chilean squad.

So far, the following five players have been cut by Chile: Jaime Valdes, Manuel Iturra, Pedro Morales, Charles Aranguiz, and Jose Pedro Fuenzalida.

But, this will certainly be a must win match for Chile, as they will need a win to show that they are capable of beating a weaker opponent.

And of course with a rambunctious behind la Roja, this match becomes even more of a must-win match for Chile.

The player to watch for Chile will be Humberto Suazo , who is the player that had the most goals in COMMEBOL qualifying with ten.

Prediction

After their 1-0 loss to Mexico, this will certainly be a match that Chile will want to win convincingly with matches against Northern Ireland and Israel quickly approaching.

Chile will win here 3-0 as they look toward their two other friendlies in the next couple of days.