Christopher Benítez Cuartas

Chile and Peru faced off in Arlington as the Classic of the Pacific played out on Friday night for the first matchday of Copa América’s Group A. They ended in a scoreless tie, the first in a Copa América match since 1979.

A fierce rivalry stemming from 19th Century politics, the modern squads are no strangers to each other. Ricardo Gareca, Chile’s head coach, led the Peruvians to the 2018 World Cup, breaking a decades-long drought. The two goalkeepers, Claudio Bravo of Chile and Peru’s Pedro Gallese, are quite experienced, Bravo having captained the champions in 2015 and 2016, and Gallese making it to the final in 2019.

The tight first half was marked by physical clashes and fouls left and right, 17 by halftime and 37 by full time. The two most impactful ones were in minute 17, a trip that knocked out Peru’s prominent captain Luis Advíncula and a clash between Carlos Zambrano and Chile’s Igor Lichnowsky at the tailend of the period.

Advíncula’s departure proved consequential, as his long throw-ins and management in the center-left offense gave the Incan squad higher chances. Otherwise, Peru’s handling — particularly in the early stages of the match often resulted in the ball getting lost and bouncing around until ultimately ending up in Chile’s well-connected midfield.

In fact, the midfield and edges were so intense, that he first proper shot on goal didn’t come until 15 minutes in by the boot of Chile’s legendary Alexis Sánchez — largely seen as the main force behind Chile’s 2015 championship.

In fact, Sánchez was one of the most physical Chilean players on the field during the half, with clashes with Zambrano and other defenders during attempted set-ups. These were often corresponded by a very active Eduardo Vargas and Victor Dávila.

By minute 27, Chile had Peru well-locked within its side of the field and subject to its constant offense and tranquil midfield passing with a 67 per cent possession. Peru could barely hold the edges near its posts, whatever it could get was when the outfielders were in a cluster.

Peru dynamoed into the second half in a much more organized fashion and confidence attributed almost exclusively through the offensive pushing of Gianluca Lapadula and Andy Polo. The confidence was so tangible that the stadium started to roar. Lapadula attempted several volleys throughout the half, including one at minute 60 surrounded by three Chilean defenses with the storied Bravo the last line of defense

Chile, on the other hand and more specifically its midfield, became porous through the left and allowed for Peruvian passing to make its way across the field and to the opponent’s right. However, the possession statistic of two-thirds in La Roja’s favor remained intact.

At minute 65, Dávila and Vargas were out and subbed in for Marcos Bolados and Ben Brerton Díaz. The duo, especially Brereton Díaz, showed their individual merits, but did not help in the sloppy ofensive strikes by Sánchez, who by now grew increasingly restless anywhere he went. This translated into an overreliance on corners and crosses by Bolados, Brereton Díaz, or Gabriel Suazo

At minute 71, Peruvian veteran Paolo Guerrero was subbed in, as he prformed as expected. He charged in and attempted a close score second after coming onto the pitch and afterwards aided and alternated with Lapadula in repetitions of the process. Peruvian defense Alexander Callens tripped by minute 80, prompting coach Jorge Fossati to sub out not only him but also Polo, who had been instrumental in the early and middle parts of the game and now sat in irrelevancy with the Guerrero-Lapadula duo. Easily one of the most even matches, the end of this tight and physical encounter was pushed for five minutes, providing Canada with just the result they need to stay afloat.

Chile’s next match is against Argentina on Tuesday, 25 June (9 p.m. local time) in New Jersey, while Peru plays Canada in Kansas City, Kansas at 5 p.m.