Cereceda dropped from Chile World Cup squad

Defender Roberto Cereceda was the last name to be dropped from Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile squad for the World Cup on Tuesday.

Bielsa’s 23-man party for South Africa, which will play in Group H alongside Spain, Switzerland and Honduras, is dominated by players plying their trade on foreign soil.

Having reduced a larger squad to 25 names a fortnight ago, Bielsa dropped striker Hector Mancilla, who plays for Mexican side Toluca, days later.

Cereceda was widely expected to be the last name cut from the list because he was initially included in the squad as cover for midfielder Marco Estrada, who was injured in April but who has since recovered.

In recent friendly matches Chile beat Mexico 1-0, then continued their winning streak with wins against Zambia (3-0), Northern Ireland (1-0) and Israel (3-0).

Chile

Goalkeepers: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad/ESP), Miguel Pinto (Universidad de Chile), Luis Marin (Union Espanola)

Defenders: Pablo Contreras (PAOK/GRE), Ismael Fuentes (Universidad Catolica), Mauricio Isla (Udinese/ITA), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors/ARG), Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich/ENG), Waldo Ponce (Universidad Catolica), Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

Midfielders: Carlos Carmona (Reggina/ITA), Marco Estrada (Universidad de Chile), Matias Fernandez (Sporting Lisbon/POR), Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo/BRA), Rodrigo Millar (Colo Colo), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas/TUR), Jorge Valdivia (Al-Ain/UAE)

Strikers: Jean Beausejour (America/MEX), Mark Gonzalez (CSKA Moscow/RUS), Fabian Orellana (Xerez/ESP), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Alexis Sanchez (Udinese/ITA), Humberto Suazo (Real Zaragoza/ESP)