Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi will renew old acquaintances when his reigning two-time Copa America champion takes on Portugal in what he expects to be a tough Confederations Cup semifinal Wednesday. Pizzi, who played under Portuguese coach Fernando Santos for FC Porto in 2000, will have a full 23-man squad to choose from for the clash in Kazan. European champion Portugal's roster, meanwhile, has been depleted by injuries and bookings. "We know it's going to be a difficult match," Pizzi told reporters at a press conference Tuesday in Kazan. "And I'm sure it's going to be difficult ...for Portugal as well." "It's a privilege and reason for satisfaction to have all of (the players)... tomorrow at our disposal. Let's hope they are able to play at the same level tomorrow as we've seen until now." The Portuguese manager said a game-day decision would be made regarding midfielder Bernardo Silva, who sustained an ankle injury in his squad's last group stage match, a 4-0 win against New Zealand. Central defender Pepe would be sidelined after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. "Chile has very good quality players, very dynamic, very strong team spirit," Santos told reporters Tuesday. "We are going to try to be better tomorrow." Chile thinks transfer speculation around Alexis Sanchez will drive him to play even better against Portugal. Sanchez has been linked with a move away from Arsenal and, far from distracting him, Chile teammate Marcelo Diaz said "he will be able to keep developing during this summer and I think that his personal situation will help him grow." Pizzi suggested the demand for Sanchez is a boost to his self-esteem, saying "we suppose he is very happy because he is going through a very special situation and I think everybody would like to be in this situation because the best clubs in the world want to have him in their squads." Diaz suggested Cristiano Ronaldo has single-handedly propelled Portugal into the semifinals, and shutting him down will be Chile's top defensive priority. "He played an amazing season in Spain and I think he is playing here with the same strength. That's the reason why they are also in the semifinal tomorrow," he said. "We'll try to stop him and reduce the space he has to move in ... try to avoid that he gets the ball and scores." Portugal topped Group A with seven points from three games while Chile finished second in Group B with five. Germany will face Mexico in the second semifinal Thursday in Sochi. — Reuters
