Eduardo Vargas returned to the Chilean team in a big way, with a great goal against Albania (0-3), in the friendly played in Parma (Italy) that inaugurated the scoring in the era of Argentine Ricardo Gareca as coach, who signed the first victory of his mandate in a perfect debut on the bench of ‘La Roja’.
The confrontation against Albania, a team qualified for EURO 2024 and included in Spain’s group, was more than just a friendly match for Chile, because Gareca rescued several players from the golden era of ‘La Roja’ to see if they could be useful thinking in Copa América key.
Claudio Bravo, Alexis Sánchez, Eduardo Vargas and Mauricio Isla were starters. And they all responded to the confidence of the new coach.
“We want to see them, find out how they are, see what they can contribute. We want to see a Chile that lives up to what it has demonstrated throughout its history. From saying to deed there is a stretch, which is Albania,” she declared in the press conference recorded by EFE prior to the duel.
There was not so much distance from “said to fact” because Chile was superior during the 90 minutes. He set the pace for most of the game and had the clearest chances. Albania could not overcome the Chilean defensive network and did not put Bravo in trouble.
But the protagonist was another. Vargas was one of the most important names in the party and was the center of attention. He had not had minutes with ‘La Roja’ since March 2022 and his last goal in the national team had been in June 2021 against Uruguay, but Gareca wanted to give him a vote of confidence that went perfectly.
Because in the 20th minute, the Atlético Mineiro player caught a loose ball on the edge of the area that, with a powerful volley, he hit the post to open the scoring. A big comeback with which he restored confidence.
Chile controlled the match, but was not able to materialize its dominance until the final stages, with Albania already more unstructured. Bolados in the 83rd minute and Davila in added time gave the finishing touch and rounded off the win after two good team plays.