Alexis Sánchez scored his first goal since January as Chile beat Japan 4-0 in their opening Copa América game. The Manchester United forward has had a difficult year, struggling with injuries and unable to find form for his club.
“For six weeks I felt worse than I ever have before,” said the 30-year-old, who injured an ankle late in the season, after the game. “I struggled in the first 45 minutes, I felt tired, but I improved in the second half.”
Eduardo Vargas scored twice to become Chile’s all-time leading scorer in the Copa América, and Erick Pulgar also found the net. Chile are trying to become the first nation to win three straight Copa titles since Argentina in the late 1940s.
The victory moved Chile to the top of Group C alongside Uruguay, who opened with a 4-0 win over Ecuador on Sunday. “Chile has players who are very experienced, who know each other very well,” the Chile coach, Reinaldo Rueda, said. “The challenge today was to avoid a bad first game. We were humble and entered with our feet on the ground. We were playing against a team that was very competitive in all areas of the pitch.”
Japan, playing as a Copa América guest for the second time, have a young squad at the tournament as they build towards a home Olympics next year. Their youngsters struggled against an experienced Chile team who were in control from the start at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo.
Rueda, taking charge of Chile in an official tournament for the first time, has been gradually revamping the squad since he assumed the role in 2018. Among the veterans back from the team’s recent triumphs were Vargas, Sánchez and Arturo Vidal, who also had a good opener.
Japan last featured in the Copa America in 1999, when they were eliminated in the group stage. Among the youngsters playing for them in Brazil is Takefusa Kubo, the 18-year-old who has joined Real Madrid for next season.
Qatar, hosts of the 2022 World Cup, are the other guest nation in this year’s tournament. They drew 2-2 with Paraguay in their Group B opener on Sunday.