Great Britain. Canada and Japan are rivals Chile in their historic first participation in the ring event.
The participation of the Chilean National Team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is historic from any point of view. The first time an adult women’s team from our country participated in such a great event; Furthermore, for the first time, Chile classified the highest world sporting event in the collective women’s discipline. An indelible and worthy milestone.
The classification of the national squad to Tokyo has started to take shape in 2018, with second place earned in the Copa América Femenina, played in the Coquimbo Region. Continental championship vice allows La Roja to play playoffs against African players (Finally, Cameroon), to find the last ticket to the Land of the Rising Sun.
After two suspensions due to the pandemic, and several changes of scenery, The matches against Indomitable Lionesses will be played on 10 and 14 April 2021 in Turkey. After winning 2-1 and drawing 0, respectively, Chile achieved a historic first qualifier for the Olympics.
On the date of the ring, La Roja takes on world football of choice (Only 12 teams qualify for this event). The national squad, under the technical command of José Letelier, is part of Group E, along with England, Japan and Canada. The key to the extreme difficulty where Chile is still struggling and reached the last date with the option to advance to the round.
The premiere at the Olympics was held on July 21, at the Sapporo Dome, in the city of the same name.a, against England. Her rival had the upper hand and, thanks to two annotations by Ellen White, she managed to win over Red at the premiere. A tricky match for Chile, which shows the difficulty of finding his footballing level.
The second duel, played on July 24 in the same scenario, shows the real growth of our representatives. Ahead was Canada, which would eventually establish itself as Olympic champion by beating Sweden in a dramatic final. Chile lost 2-1, but the game had key moments: Karen Araya entered the history books by becoming the first Chilean woman to score in an adult Olympics (57 minutes. Then, in the 72nd minute, the crossbar prevented a 2-2 draw, stopping María José Urrutia’s shot when we had the information.
To close your participation in the group stage, Chile move to Miyagi to face hosts in that city: Japan. Nadeshiko, world champions in Germany 2011, came out as a very strong team; However, the victory still gives La Roja hope to qualify. And how close! With the score 0-0 on the scoreboard, Yanara Aedo’s cross found Francisca Lara’s head, lethal shot, hit the crossbar, the ball shot up and was half controlled by the Japanese goalkeeper. Did the ball go in? According to some television pictures, yes. According to the party judge, Melissa Borjas Honduras, no. In fact, whether he comes on or not, the goal goes unpunished. Then, in the 77th minute’, striker Mina Tanaka scored the last goal 1-0 for the hosts.
Chile bids farewell to Tokyo 2020 with three falls. However, facts say that attending the highest event in sport globally is a national milestone. The Adult National Team added another chapter to the journey started in 2010 by the Under-15s, when they won the gold medal at the Singapore Youth Olympics, the first official title in Chilean football history.
Photo: ANFP Communication