Honduras 0-1 Chile

Chile played some of the finest football of the tournament so far to open their World Cup with a convincing 1-0 win against plucky outsiders Honduras.

Playing with an enterprising spirit, the South Americans imposed themselves on the game from the beginning, as is the style of their Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa.

La Roja's first meaningful chance arrived after Wilson Palacios welcomed Jorge Valdivia to the game to concede an early free-kick, however Matias Fernande’s effort landed just over the bar with keeper Noel Valladares scrambling.


Valladares had another nervous moment when Arturo Vidal, striding forward, tried his luck with a speculative right foot shot which leapt out of the keeper's hands with the veteran relieved to find no onrushing opponents.

Honduras' record scorer Carlos Pavon was handed his first meaningful opportunity after excellent play from Edgar Alvarez down the right hand side however he failed to appreciate the time available to him and he meekly shot wide.

Alexis Sanchez exhibited his pace throughout the first half and his latching on to a mammoth throw from keeper Claudio Bravo created a chance for Jorge Valdivia whose goalbound shot was diverted over the bar thanks to a courageous block from the skipper Guevarra.

Despite the aesthetically pleasing football on show from the Chileans, the game was slightly marred by some questionable decisions from Eddy Maillet, it was an entertaining affair and few were surprised to see Chile take the lead.

The delightfully named Jean Beausejour scored only his second goal for Chile after Mauricio Isla got beyond Matias Fernandez who played in the Udinese man. The rightback's cutback was guided into the net after Sergio Mendoza inadvertently played the ball against Beausejour for a well deserved opening goal.

Chile held their lead at half-time though only after Claudio Bravo comfortably tipped over a free kick from Ramon Nunez.

Honduras switched to 4-4-2 for the second half and it almost paid immediate dividends as the pacy Alvarez moved alongside Pavon. It prompted Bielsa to sacrifice midfielder Rodrigo Millar for West Brom leftback Gonzalo Jara.

Sanchez then beat two men and slid the ball through to Beausejour who was denied by an excellent last-ditch sliding lunge from Maynor Figueroa. The Chile flyer almost got his name on the scoresheet when an electric burst of pace took him into the penalty box but he skewed his shot wide.

Chile somehow failed to score the second goal they deserved, coming closest when centreback Waldo Ponce somehow failed to score from inside the six-yard box, with Valladares pulling off a superb acrobatic stop.

Chile had the ball in the net a second time thanks to Valdivia, however Alexis Sanchez was rightly adjudged to have been offside whilst being fortunate to escape a booking for handball. They continued to press throughout and though they failed to extend their lead, La Roja never looked in danger of not taking all three points and may well be a side to watch in this tournament.