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Chile Starts Strong at World Cup, Defeats Honduras

   VOA News 16 June 2010
   Honduras'  Wilson  Palacios,  left, and Chile's Alexis Sánchez go for
   the ball uring the World Cup group H soccer match between Honduras and
   Chile at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, 16 June 2010

Photo: AP

   Honduras'  Wilson  Palacios,  left, and Chile's Alexis Sánchez go for
   the ball uring the World Cup group H soccer match between Honduras and
   Chile at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, 16 June 2010

   Chile  has  defeated Honduras, 1-0, to get its 2010 World Cup campaign
   in South Africa off to a strong start in Nelspruit.
   Chile  was  far  more  dominating  than the score indicated Wednesday,
   controlling  every  aspect of the Group-H match. Chile had 20 shots on
   goal to just seven for Honduras.
   It  was  Chile's first World Cup victory in 48 years, the longest-ever
   wait between wins at football's premier tournament.
   Jean  Beausejour  scored  the  only goal of the match for Chile in the
   34th minute, tapping in a crossing pass from Mauricio Isla to lead his
   team to the top of the group standings with three points.
   Later  today, Spain begins its Group-H campaign against Switzerland in
   Durban,  while  in  the last match of the day, host South Africa plays
   its second Group-A game against Uruguay in Pretoria.
   Ranked  second  by  FIFA,  Spain  has lost only once in 49 games since
   November  2006,  winning  the 2008 European championship and posting a
   10-0  record in World Cup qualifying. At the last World Cup four years
   ago,  Spain  dominated  other teams in its group but lost to France in
   the next round.
   The  host  nation,  South  Africa,  is  playing it second game of this
   tournament, facing off against Uruguay in Pretoria. All teams in Group
   A  have one point each as South Africa opened the World Cup with a 1-1
   draw  against  Mexico  while  Uruguay and France played to a scoreless
   tie.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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