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Chile hope to avoid Achilles heel - the penalty shootout

Chile's national team soccer coach Jorge Sampaoli and Alexis Sanchez (not pictured) deliver a news conference ahead of the Copa America tournament in Santiago, June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (Reuters)

By Anthony Esposito SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli is more concerned about beating the team's quarter-final opponent than extra spot-kick training at the Copa America but the prospect of a penalty shoot-out is likely to be on the minds of some of his players. The hosts brushed aside Bolivia 5-0 on Friday to finish top of Group A and ensure they remain in the capital Santiago for their quarter-final, with their opponent yet to be determined. Penalty shootouts come into play in the knockout rounds and it was almost a year to the day that Chile's run at the World Cup was ended by hosts Brazil in a shoot-out after they were tied 1-1 after extra time. Making a penalty shot "in such an important tournament depends on a lot of other factors such as your mood and state of mind," Sampaoli told a news conference following Chile's win over Bolivia. "We're gong to think a lot more about beating our next rival than starting to practise making penalty shots." On the win over neighbouring Bolivia, Sampaoli said his team had "control (of the) situations and dominated and were convincing, which is what we were missing in the Mexico game." Chile drew 3-3 with Mexico on Monday. Despite their defeat, Bolivia finished second in the group and also progress to the last eight. Bolivia coach Mauricio Soria said he had rested players for the Chile match, knowing they had already qualified for the quarters. "We wanted to preserve some players," he said. "We know we are capable of something very different." Chile and Boliva will both have to wait until results over the weekend to find out their next opponents. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Ian Ransom)