Chile 1, Australia 1

MOSCOW » Chile salvaged a 1-1 draw against a tenacious Australian side to ensure progress to the last four of the Confederations Cup.

The Australians took the lead in the 42nd minute when James Troisi delicately chipped the ball in after a pass from Robbie Kruse, and then went in pursuit of a second goal that could have seen them qualify at Chile’s expense.

Roared on by thousands of traveling fans, Chile held on and hit back in the 67th when Eduardo Vargas flicked the ball on for substitute Martin Rodriguez to hit it past goalkeeper Maty Ryan.

South American champion Chile qualifies second in Group B behind Germany to set a semifinal meeting with Portugal in Kazan on Wednesday.

Australia is eliminated but gave the rattled Chile team a shock with aggressive first half play that saw the Australians collect four yellow cards.

“This match was at the level of a World Cup quarter-final,” Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi said. “Our opponent didn’t allow us to play the way we usually do, they were very good at pressing.”

Chile had chances to score early on, but were held back by wasteful finishing and Ryan’s solid performance in the Australian goal. One particularly hard challenge from Tim Cahill left Chile midfielder Charles Aranguiz in pain and he was substituted at half-time.