Point enough for Chile to progress - FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP

Point enough for Chile to progress - FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP

Chile's forward Alexis Sanchez and Australia's Tim Cahill congratulate each other at the end of the 2017 Confederations Cup group B football match between Chile and Australia at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on June 25, 2017. / AFP / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

• Chile reach semi-finals and will face Portugal
• Australia finish third and are eliminated
• Relive: As it happened, stats and more

Chile reached the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 semi-finals after coming from behind to draw 1-1 against Australia in front of 33,639 fans in Moscow.

James Troisi had Robbie Kruse partly to thank for the opener. The No10 stole possession from the Chileans around the halfway line before persevering with the ball. His cross-shot found its way to Troisi, who lofted the ball delightfully over Claudio Bravo.

Trent Sainsbury then had a huge chance to increase the lead to 2-0, a margin of victory that would have seen Ange Postecoglou's side through, but the central defender blazed over after being teed up by Tim Cahill.

After the break, Australia remained in the ascendancy, but were punished for not converting their chances. Substitute Martin Rodriguez finished from close range to level matters.

The point sealed second place in Group B for Chile, who will face Group A winners Portugal in their semi-final in Kazan on Wednesday 28 June.

FIFA.com team reporter analysis"Plain and simple: Chile never found their collective rhythm and were outplayed by Australia during some of the game. Nevertheless, they were able to get the point they needed to reach the last four. Now it is Pizzi's job to look back over the game, see what went wrong and make the adjustments needed in order to face a team of Portugal's undoubted quality."
Diego Zandrino, Chile team reporter

"This was quite a different Australian performance compared to their first two outings: a very physical and high-tempo contest with a 'cup tie' feel to it. Australia made six changes for their third match in six days, and that energy was on display for the entire 90 minutes. Chile could have easily scored in the first half, but Australia’s perfectly timed opener cleared the way for a confident second-half showing that could, and perhaps should, have produced a winner against the world's No4-ranked side."
Pete Smith, Australia team reporter

Budweiser Man of the MatchTwo of the first half's finest moments had James Troisi at their heart. First, the No14 chipped a lovely through ball to Massimo Luongo, but the midfielder was denied by Claudio Bravo. Then, Troisi himself provided a lovely dinked finish to give the Socceroos a glimmer of hope. The Melbourne Victory attacker worked tirelessly throughout the game, though ultimately in vain.

The stat
100 ​international games for Tim Cahill was the milestone brought up by the 37-year-old against Chile today. Since making his debut in 2004, the Socceroos' No4 has featured at three FIFA World Cups™, and scored against Chile at Brazil 2014.

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