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| Other names | Clásico del Pacífico (Spanish) Derby of the Pacific |
|---|---|
| Location | CONMEBOL (South America) |
| Teams |  Chile Peru |
| First meeting | Peru 1–0 Chile 1935 South American Championship (Lima, Peru; 26 January 1935) |
| Latest meeting | Chile 2–1 Peru Friendly (Krasnodar Krai, Russia; 17 November 2025) |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 88 |
| Most wins | Chile (48) |
| Most player appearances |  Roberto Palacios (15) |
| Top scorer | Eduardo Vargas (7) |
| Largest victory | Peru 6–0 Chile (Lima, Peru; April 19, 1995) |
  Chile Peru | |
TheChile–Peru football rivalry is a long-standingassociation football rivalry between the national football teams ofPeru andChile and their respectiveaficionados. Both teams compete inFIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). Matches between the two nations are keenly contested and their games have a reputation for fierceness in and off the field of play, fueled bypolitical disputes.[1][2]
Sports media outlets have listed this rivalry, which is also known inSpanish as theClásico del Pacífico (Pacific Derby), among the most competitive in association football.[3][4][5][6] The derby's name refers to thePacific Ocean, as both countries are neighbors in South America's Pacific coast, and the winner "earns bragging rights as the best team" in this side of the continent.[7] According to sports historian Richard Henshaw, Chile and Peru traditionally compete with each other over the rank of fourth-best national team in South America (afterArgentina,Brazil, andUruguay, which are located in the continent'sAtlantic side).[8]
Although American journalists link the rivalry as a direct consequence of theWar of the Pacific, Chilean historian Sebastián Salinas argues that the football rivalry between Chile and Peru is more recent, dating specifically to the centenary commemorations of the war in the 1970s.[9] According to Salinas, the dictatorships ofAugusto Pinochet in Chile andFrancisco Morales Bermúdez in Peru promoted anationalist animosity to these games to divert public attention.[9] Moreover, the rise offootball hooliganism, from the Argentinebarra brava sports culture that influenced Chile and Peru in the 1980s, further intensified the rivalry.[9]
Chile and Peru have played against each other 88 times infriendlies and tournament matches. Peru defeated Chile 1–0 in their first-ever encounter at the1935 South American Championship held inLima. Chile holds the records for most victories (48 wins) and top scorer (Eduardo Vargas, 7 goals). Peru holds the record for the largest victory margin (6–0), acquired in a friendly match played in 1995. Since 1953, both countries have sporadically contested the friendlyCopa del Pacífico (Pacific Cup), which is a trophy awarded to the side with the best record after a two-legged home and away match.[10]
The football rivalry between Chile and Peru has increased in intensity since the early twentieth century. Initially, the sports authorities from both countries attempted to use football as a way to foster friendly bilateral sociopolitical relations.[citation needed]
In 1933, a private enterprise by businessmenWaldo Sanhueza and Jack Gubbins saw the creation of the Combinado del Pacifico, a binational football team composed by Peruvian and Chilean footballers. The squad was initially composed by players from the Chilean clubColo-Colo and the Peruvian clubUniversitario de Deportes. After this squad was defeated 1-5 byAlianza Lima, another football club from the Peruvian capital, the team was reinforced by Alianza's goalkeeperJuan Valdivieso and creative forwardAlejandro Villanueva.[citation needed]
Nowadays, Chile v. Peru games generally tend to be very competitive and at times rough, often with players sent off. The two teams display highly contested battles that make for entertaining matches within theCONMEBOL region.[11][citation needed]
In 2015, following a2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match that resulted in a 3–4 Chilean victory over Peru inLima, Chile's national team vandalized a dressing room in the Peruvian national stadium. The Chileans left behind a defiant message in the room's wall, "Respect! Through here passed America's champion!" (Respeto. Por aquí pasó el campeón de América), alluding to their victory at the2015 Copa América.[12]
In 2017, after Chile did not qualify to the World Cup finals, Chilean lawyers accused Peru of colluding with Colombia by drawing 1-1 to eliminate Chile; a complaint later dismissed by FIFA.[13][14][15][16] When Peru reached the World Cup finals, after defeating New Zealand in the qualification play-offs, the Peruvian players celebrated with chants mocking Chile's elimination; an action deemed byEl Mercurio, Chile's leading news outlet, as "provocative".[17]
Chilean midfielderMarcelo Díaz and naturalized Chilean player-turned-coachNelson Acosta have in the past dismissed the relevance of this football rivalry.[18][19] In 2018, Chilean midfielderArturo Vidal declared in an interview that no rivalry existed with Peru.[20] In 2019, nonetheless, he declared in another interview a preference for playing against Peru, stating that "against Peru it's a derby, there is much football rivalry."[21]
The national football teams ofChile andPeru have a rivalry that is known in Spanish as theClásico del Pacífico ("Pacific Derby").[22]CNN World Sport editor Greg Duke ranks it among the top ten football rivalries in the world.[23] The two countries traditionally compete with each other over the rank of fourth-best national team in South America (afterArgentina,Brazil, andUruguay).[8] They also both claim to have invented thebicycle kick; Peruvians call it thechalaca, while it is thechilena in Chile and the rest of Latin America.[24]
Both sides first faced each other in the1935 South American Championship.[10] Since 1953, both countries have sporadically contested the friendlyCopa del Pacífico ("Pacific Cup"), which is a trophy awarded to the side with the best record after a two-legged home and away match.[10] The firstFIFA World Cup match between both teams took place in the qualification phase for theWest Germany 1974 tournament.[10] At present, Chile has a positive overall record against Peru ininternational football.[10]
The first time both sides played each other was in the qualification round for theWest Germany 1974 tournament.[10] Both teams were placed in CONMEBOL's Group 3, along withVenezuela. Following Venezuela's withdrawal from the tournament, the group became a contest between Peru and Chile. The first match was won by Peru on 29 April 1973.
Peru and Chile first faced each other in the 1935 South American Championship, with Alberto Montellanos scoring the only goal of the match within 5 minutes resulting in a 1–0 win for the Peruvians. The two sides have played each other 21 times throughout the tournament, with Peru having seven wins, Chile with eight, and six draws.
Some notable matches include the2015 semifinal, in whichCarlos Zambrano was sent off after a tackle onCharles Aránguiz,Eduardo Vargas scoring twice, andGary Medel scoring an own goal in a 2–1 win forLa Roja to see them advance to the final,[25] in which they were victorious against Argentina 4–1 on spot kicks. The Peruvians would get their revenge four years later in2019, in a 3–0 win, withEdison Flores scoring,Gabriel Arias coming off his line and making a disastrous mistake, allowingYoshimar Yotún to strike the ball into an empty net, andPaolo Guerrero tricking Arias to put in a third and sendLos Incas into their first final since 1975.[26]
