TheChile national football team (Spanish:Selección de fútbol de Chile), nicknamedLa Roja (lit.'The Red One'),[4][5][6] representsChile in men's internationalfootball competitions and is controlled by theFederación de Fútbol de Chile (English:Football Federation of Chile), which was established in 1895. Chile has appeared in nineWorld Cup tournaments and were hosts of the1962 FIFA World Cup where they finished in third place, the highest position the country has ever achieved in the World Cup.
Chile won their firstCopa América title on home soil at the2015 Copa América, defeating Argentina in the final.[7] They successfully defended their title in another final against Argentina won on penalties atCopa América Centenario the following year in the United States.[8] Prior to this, Chile had been runners-up in the competition on four occasions. As a result of winning the 2015 Copa América, they qualified for the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they finished second, behind Germany, in their debut appearance.
TheFederación de Fútbol de Chile is the second oldest South American federation, having been founded inValparaíso on 19 June 1895.[9] Chile was one of the four founding member nations ofCONMEBOL. Together with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, the four competed in the first South American Championship, later to be renamed theCopa América, in 1916. On 12 October 1926, Chile made the first corner-kick goal in Copa América history in a match againstBolivia. Chile was one of the thirteen national teams that competed in the inauguralWorld Cup in 1930. The team started off well, beatingMexico andFrance without conceding agoal. 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 theUnited States, 5–2, but nevertheless was eliminated in the first round.
The best Chilean result in the World Cup was third place in1962, as the host nation. Chile lost 2–4 to the eventual championBrazil in a semi-final but went on to defeatYugoslavia 1–0 to win the third place. Chilean players made two World Cup firsts: the first player to miss a World Cup penalty kick was the ChileanGuillermo Subiabre, in a1930 FIFA World Cup match againstFrance,[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 the1974 World Cup.
A scandal known as "El Maracanazo" occurred on 3 September 1989. At a1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Rio de Janeiro'sMaracanã stadium, Brazil led Chile 1–0 andLa Roja needed to win. Chilean goalkeeperRoberto Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury in his forehead. Afirework had been thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan namedRosenery 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 unsafe and they refused to resume the game, so the match was abandoned. However, a video footage of the match later showed that the firework had not made any contact to Rojas. Based on this evidence,FIFA decided to award the victory to Brazil; meanwhile, Chile was banned from the qualifiers for the1994 FIFA World Cup, and Rojas himself was banned for life,[12] although an amnesty was granted in 2001.[13]
On 19 July 2007, theChilean Football Federation banned six of the national team players, because of "internal indiscipline" during theCopa América tournament, for 20 international matches each as they destroyed the team hotel property while drunk. The players banned were captainJorge Valdivia, defendersÁlvaro Ormeño,Rodrigo Tello,Jorge Vargas,Pablo Contreras and strikerReinaldo Navia.[14] Nelson Acosta's resignation as manager came after Chile were knocked out of the2007 Copa América. After serving 10 matches from the ban, all players aside from Ormeño 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 managerMarcelo 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 beatArgentina 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 endedAlfio Basile's tenure as theArgentina coach.
After finishing second place atthe 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Chile qualified for the2010 FIFA World Cup held inSouth Africa after 12 years absence. The team later reached to the round of 16 at the tournament after two wins againstHonduras andSwitzerland in the group stage. Despite of losing 0–3 to Brazil in the round of 16, Marcelo Bielsa still extended his contract with the Chile national team until 2015.
Bielsa stated that he would leave his position ifJorge Segovia were elected as President of the Chilean Football Federation. 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.
With Sampaoli, Chile were able to qualify for2014 FIFA World Cup byfinishing third in the qualifier. The team caused a strong impression by eliminating the defending championSpain by 2–0 win at the group stage and reaching to theround of 16, where Chile held a dramatic 1–1 draw against the host nationBrazil after 120 minutes playing time, then only lost 2–3 on thepenalty shoot-out.
At the2015 Copa América where Chile was the host, the team won their first game againstEcuador, with 2–0 win. In their second game, Chile drew 3–3 againstMexico. Chile advanced to the knockout stage as Group A winners with 7 points and most goals scored of any team in the tournament (10). The team later defeated the defending champion Uruguay in the quarterfinals and Peru in the semi-finals. 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 ArgentineanJuan Antonio Pizzi, was appointed at the end of the same month, who then ledLa Roja to a second Copa America Centenario 2016 victory after again beating Argentina in the final.[17]
At the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Russia, for which they had qualified by winning the Copa America, Chile won their first group stage match againstCameroon with 2–0 being the score. In their second match against theGermany, Chile drew 1–1 in a tense match. In their final game of the group stage againstAustralia, Chile drew once again but qualified to the knockout stage, being in second place with five points. In the semis, after a tense and exciting match, Chile came out on top, beatingPortugal on the penalty shoot-out, 3–0 and hence they qualified for the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup Final. In their first ever final in a FIFA tournament, Chile facedGermany again and lost 0–1.
On 10 October 2017, after losing 0–3 toBrazil in the last match of2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Chile failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, causing an end to what was perceived as their "golden generation". They ended up being the highest ranked team that failed to qualify for World Cup at 9th, placing sixth in the round-robin after losing out on overall goal difference toPeru, the number of points being equal. Juan Antonio Pizzi also resigned after failing to help Chile qualify for the tournament.
At the2019 Copa America, Chile beat Colombia on penalties in the quarter-finals but then lost 0–3 to Peru in the semi finals. At the2021 Copa America, Chile advanced to the quarter-finals, where the team lost 0–1 to Brazil. Chilealso failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, finishing seventh in the standings with five wins, four draws, and nine losses.
At the2024 Copa America, Chile was eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 2004 with only 2 points and was unable to score a goal in the tournament. The2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier was one of the Chilean's worst qualifiers when the team failed to qualify for the third straight World Cup by standing at the bottom with only two wins, five draws and eleven losses.[18]
The team's home kit consists of a red jersey, blue shorts, and either red or white socks. The away jersey, meanwhile, features a white jersey, white shorts, and blue socks. The color scheme of red, white, and blue that was featured in the1947 South American Championship, the precursor of theCopa 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, payingUS$ 3 million per year, also providing referees' kits and balls for domestic club competitions. The previous kit supplier, from 2004 to 2010 including the2010 World Cup, wasBrooks Sports.[19]
Puma company ended its link after the2015 Copa América with the tender for the new brand that will outfit the team since August 2015. This procedure was won by the American companyNike. The contract with Nike was supposed to last until the2022 FIFA World Cup, but ended prematurely when the Chilean Football Federation sued Nike for missing payments in 2021.[20][21] 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.[22]
The Chile national team plays their qualifying matches at theEstadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos located inSantiago, Chile and can be found at the commune ofÑuñoa. 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.[23] An example would be the1962 FIFA World Cup semi-final match Chile vs. Brazil, where over 76,000 spectators viewed the game. The highest attendance ever was 85,262 on 26 December 1962, for a game betweenUniversidad Católica andUniversidad de Chile.
The Chile national team has no special rivalry in South America or at Latin American level; however, two matches are considered important, although neither is a special rivalry: those are against Argentina and Peru.
The Chile–Peru football rivalry is known in Spanish as theClásico del Pacífico ("Pacific Derby").[24] The rivalry is considered to be one of the fiercest rivalries in the world,[25] withCNN World Sport editor Greg Duke ranking it among the top ten football rivalries in the world.[26] The rivalry between Chile and Peru stems from historical politics, border disputes, and theWar of the Pacific,[27][28][29] with the rivalry producing some of the most intense matches in South American footballing history.[25]
Chile first faced Peru in the 1935 South American Championship, losing 1–0.[30]
^C. Barrera y M. Parker, ed. (24 April 2015)."Nike vestirá a la Roja hasta el Mundial de Rusia de 2018".La Tercera (in Spanish). latercera.com. Archived fromthe original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved25 April 2015.El acuerdo se cerró en los últimos días. El contrato será vigente después de la Copa América hasta la cita planetaria.
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