Chile may have started their Copa America on a bad note, but this past Tuesday they were finally able to convince their fans that they have the props to be competitive. Despite this, goalkeeper Claudio Bravo made two horrible mistakes which transformed into Panama's two goals during the game, these goals gave the Central American side a lifeline for the rest of the match until Alexis scored the fourth goal.
Soon after the game, the Chilean press roughly criticized Bravo for his mistakes but the manager had to come out and defend him in public: "Claudio is not only my first-choice goalkeeper, he is also the captain of this generation. He is the player with most games played, and I respect him as a footballer and a professional. I am sure he will overcome his sadness and bitterness that he has for some of his actions during the game. We have completed our first objective, and that was to be among the eight teams to win the title."
Pizzi also reckoned that they will have a really tough time playing against Mexico, but he thinks they won't be the same side that lost against them on the friendly before the Copa America started a few weeks ago: "Mexico is a great national team and it hasn't been long since we last played them [a 1-0 loss]. They have something like 21 games without a loss, and with a coach that in 10 games under him they've conceded two goals. Most of their players are at a European level of playing, but we will play and make an effort to compete at our highest level."
Photo credit: Seleccion Chilena