Games-Chile chasing Pan Am Games soccer golden double

SANTIAGO : It was a deja vu double celebration for Chile at the Pan American Games on Wednesday as Martina Weil powered to women's 400 metre gold and the men's soccer team took a 1-0 win from the United States.

If that sounds familiar it is because only a night earlier, on Tuesday, Santiago Adolfo Ford had the home crowd on its feet roaring decathlon gold as the women's soccer team was advancing to the gold medal final, also at the expense of the United States.

The gold on back-to-back nights at the Estadio Nacional, where the 1962 World Cup final was played, were joyous achievements but it is a double opportunity at soccer gold that really has Chilean hearts pounding.

The Chilean men have never won Pan Am Games gold and only once before, in 1987, appeared in the final losing to Brazil while the women have never before got to the semi-finals.

Cesar Perez's 57th minute strike was enough to see the hosts through to Saturday's final as the Americans failed to register a shot on target the entire match.

Chile's win setup a rematch of the 1987 final against Brazil, who advanced with 1-0 win over Mexico.

The Chilean women will face Mexico for gold on Friday.

What it means is a few emotional days ahead as the soccer-mad country dreams of the ultimate golden finish to the Games that no doubt would ease some of the sting of being left out of FIFA plans to host 2030 World Cup soccer matches.

Chile had made a joint bid alongside Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to stage the opening games in 2030 but was the only one of those countries not to be given a match.

Co-hosts Spain, Portugal and Morocco will stage the majority of the tournament and the South American countries will host one game each.

Once coached by her mother, who was the 400m