Chile national football team

The Chilean national team playing at the 1930 FIFA World Cup against Mexico.

The Federación de Fútbol de Chile is the second oldest South American federation, having been founded in Valparaíso on 19 June 1895.[9] Chile was one of the four founding member nations of CONMEBOL. Together with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, the four competed in the first South American Championship, later to be renamed the Copa América, in 1916. On 12 October 1926, Chile made the first corner-kick goal in Copa América history in a match against Bolivia. Chile was one of the thirteen national teams that competed in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The team started off well, beating Mexico and France without conceding a goal. A 3–1 loss to Argentina in the final game left the Chilean team in second place within the group, eliminating it from the tournament. In the 1950 World Cup, Chile defeated the United States, 5–2, but nevertheless was eliminated in the first round.

The best Chilean result in the World Cup was third place in 1962, as the host nation. Chile lost 4–2 to eventual champion Brazil in a semi-final but went on to defeat Yugoslavia 1–0 to earn third place. Chilean players made two World Cup firsts: the first player to miss a World Cup penalty kick was the Chilean Guillermo Subiabre, in a 1930 FIFA World Cup match against France,[10] and Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off with a red card, during a match against West Germany at the 1974 World Cup.

A scandal known as "El Maracanazo" occurred on 3 September 1989. At a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã stadium, Brazil led Chile 1–0 and La Roja needed to win. Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury to his forehead. A firework had been thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosenery Mello do Nascimento and was smouldering about a yard away.[11] After Rojas was carried off the pitch, the Chilean players and coaches claimed that conditions were not safe and they refused to return, so the match was abandoned. However, video footage of the match showed that the firework had not made contact with Rojas. FIFA forfeited the game to Brazil, Chile was banned from the qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and Rojas was banned for life,[12] although an amnesty was granted in 2001.[13]

On 19 July 2007, the Chilean Football Federation banned six of the national team players, because of "internal indiscipline" during the Copa América tournament, for 20 international matches each as they destroyed the team hotel property while drunk. The players banned were captain Jorge Valdivia, defenders Álvaro Ormeño, Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Vargas, Pablo Contreras and striker Reinaldo Navia.[14] Nelson Acosta's resignation as manager came after Chile were knocked out of the 2007 Copa América. After serving 10 matches from the ban, all players aside from Ormeno sent a letter of apology acknowledging their actions which lifted the ban. Chile had qualified to the quarter-finals after a 3–2 win against Ecuador, and a 0–0 draw against Mexico. But two losses, one of those being a 6–1 defeat against Brazil, sealed Acosta's fate. Former Argentina manager Marcelo Bielsa was given the task of becoming the Chile national team manager in preparation for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.[15]

On 16 October 2008, Chile beat Argentina 1–0 for the first time in a qualifying competition, making history. Marcelo Bielsa was acclaimed for this accomplishment by both Chilean and Argentinian people. This match was seen as one of the reasons that ended Alfio Basile's tenure as Argentina's coach.

After finishing in second place of the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa and reaching the round of 16 at the tournament, head coach Marcelo Bielsa extended his contract with the Chilean national team until 2015. Bielsa stated that he would leave his position if Jorge Segovia were elected as President of the Chilean Football Board. He followed through on this threat, despite Segovia's election being annulled, and resigned in February 2011. Claudio Borghi then became Chile's manager in March 2011.

After a string of bad performances and harsh criticisms, Claudio Borghi stepped down as Chile's manager in November 2012. A new manager, Jorge Sampaoli, was appointed in December 2012. A disciple of Marcelo Bielsa, Jorge Sampaoli broke new records for La Roja by winning 10, drawing 3, and losing only 3 of 15 games as the head of the Chilean national team.

Chile playing against tournament hosts Brazil, at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

With Sampaoli, Chile were able to qualify for 2014 FIFA World Cup, reaching to the round of 16, where Chile lost to Brazil in penalties.

In the 2015 Copa América, Chile won their first game against Ecuador, with 2–0 being the score. In their second game, Chile drew against Mexico. Chile advanced to the knockout stage as Group A winners with 7 points and most goals scored of any team in the tournament (10). Then they beat Uruguay in the quarterfinals and Peru in the semifinals. In the final, Chile defeated Argentina on penalties (4–1) after a 0–0 draw, to win their first Copa America title.

In January 2016, just six months after winning the 2015 Copa America, Jorge Sampaoli stepped down as Chile's manager.[16] A new manager, the Argentinean Juan Antonio Pizzi, was appointed at the end of the same month, who then led La Roja to a second Copa America Centenario 2016 victory after again beating Argentina in the final.[17]

In the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Russia, for which they had qualified by winning the Copa America, Chile won their first group stage match against Cameroon with 2–0 being the score. In their second match against the Germany, Chile drew after a hard match and both team scored 1. In their final game of the group stage against Australia, Chile drew once again but qualified to the knockout stage on virtue of having more points than Australia, though having less points than Germany. In the semis, after a tense and exciting match, Chile came out on top, beating Portugal on Penalties, 3–0 and hence they qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup Final. In their first ever final in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, Chile faced Germany and lost 1–0.

On 10 October 2017, after losing 3–0 to Brazil, Chile failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, causing an end to what was perceived as their "golden generation". They ended up being the highest ranked team that failed to qualify at 9th, placing sixth in the round-robin after losing out on overall goal difference to Peru, the number of points being equal.

The team kit consists of a red jersey, blue shorts, and white socks. The away jersey features a white jersey, white shorts, and blue socks. The color scheme of red, white, and blue that was featured in the 1947 South American Championship, the precursor of the Copa América, has remained in place since. In 2016, red shorts were introduced as an option for the first time.

In August 2010, Puma acquired the contract to be the official kit supplier for the Chilean team from 2011 to 2015, paying US$ 3 million per year, also providing referees' kits and balls for domestic club competitions. The previous kit supplier, from 2004 to 2010 including the 2010 World Cup, was Brooks Sports.[18]

Puma company ended its link after the 2015 Copa América with the tender for the new brand that will outfit the team since August 2015. This procedure was won by the American company Nike. The contract with Nike was supposed to last until the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but ended prematurely when the Chilean Football Federation sued Nike for missing payments in 2021.[19][20] This dispute lead to Chile blocking the Nike patch with a flag during the 2021 Copa América. On 1 September 2021, Adidas were announced as the national team kit supplier until 2026.[21]

Estadio Nacional at night.

The Chilean national team plays their qualifying matches at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos located in Santiago, Chile and can be found at the commune of Ñuñoa. The construction of the stadium began in February 1937, and opened on 3 December 1938. The current official registered capacity is of 49,000 spectators, but has surpassed the 75,000 mark on many occasions when the match is of high demand.[22] An example would be the 1962 FIFA World Cup semi-final match Chile vs. Brazil, where over 76,000 spectators viewed the game. The maximum attendance ever was 85,262 on 26 December 1962, for a game between Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile.

It has hosted four Copa América finals, the final of the 1962 FIFA World Cup and the final to the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Chile has no special rivalry, however, two matches are considered important: those against Argentina, and Peru.

• Coca-Cola/Powerade (since 1962 FIFA World Cup/2020)
• Sodimac (since 2007)
• Cerveza Cristal (since 2007)
• Santander (since 2015)
• Chilevisión/TNT Sports Chile (TV broadcaster of Chile's qualifying and friendly matches) (since 2018/2021)
• Arauco (since 2018)
• Claro (since 2019)
• ProChile (since 2020)
• Rappi (since 2020)
• Betsson (since 2021)[30]
• LATAM (since 2021)[31]

Kit suppliers

Period	Kit supplier
1973	Le Coq Sportif
1974–1983	Adidas
1984	Power
1984	Penalty
1985	Puma
1986	Umbro
1987	Power
1987–1988	Puma
1988-1990	Adidas
1990–1991	Umbro
1992	Avia
1993–1994	Adidas
1995	Rhumell
1996–2000	Reebok
2000–2003	Umbro
2003–2010	Brooks
2010–2015	Puma
2015–2021	Nike
2021–2026	Adidas

As of 14 February 2021

Position	Name
Manager	Vacant
Assistant Manager	Vacant
Goalkeeping Coach	Vacant

As of 29 March 2022[37]

Players in bold are still active with Chile.

Most appearances

Alexis Sánchez is the top scorer in the history of Chile with 48 goals, and the most capped player with 148 caps.

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Alexis Sánchez	148	48	2006–present
2	Gary Medel	145	7	2007–present
3	Claudio Bravo	143	0	2004–present
4	Mauricio Isla	136	5	2007–present
5	Arturo Vidal	133	32	2007–present
6	Gonzalo Jara	115	3	2006–2019
7	Jean Beausejour	109	6	2004–2021
8	Eduardo Vargas	106	40	2009–present
9	Charles Aránguiz	96	7	2009–present
10	Leonel Sánchez	85	24	1955–1968

• Chile national under-23 football team
• Chile national under-20 football team
• Chile national under-17 football team
• Chile national futsal team
• South American Footballer of the Year

• In 2010, Chicago-based rock band Manwomanchild released the song "Chile La Roja" in support of Chile's 2010 World Cup team.[39][40][41]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chile national football team.

• The official Chile national football team website
• national football team web site on ANFP
• Chile FIFA profile
• RSSSF archive of results 1910–2003
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers