The Chile national football team (), nicknamed La Roja (), represents Chile in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile (), which was established in 1895. Chile has appeared in nine World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup where they finished in third place, the highest position the country has ever achieved in the World Cup.
Chile won their first Copa América title on home soil at the 2015 Copa América, defeating Argentina in the final. They successfully defended their title in another final against Argentina won on penalties at Copa América Centenario the following year in the United States. 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 the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they finished second, behind Germany, in their debut appearance.
History
The early stage The Federación de Fútbol de Chile is the second oldest South American federation, having been founded in Valparaíso on 19 June 1895. 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 2–4 to the eventual champion Brazil in a semi-final but went on to defeat Yugoslavia 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 Chilean Guillermo Subiabre, in a 1930 FIFA World Cup match against France, 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.
Maracanazo Scandal and punishment (1989 - 1994) 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 in 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. 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, and examinations of his injury determined it to be caused by a cut, and not from the impact of any firework, as there were no traces of gunpowder; indeed, Rojas would later confess he had a razor concealed in his glove, and it was part of a plan to cancel the match and prevent Brazil's qualification over Chile. Based on this evidence, FIFA decided to award the victory to Brazil; meanwhile, Chile was banned from the 1990 World Cup and the qualifiers for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and Rojas himself was banned for life,Goal.com – Editorial/Comment – Own Goal: Faking Being Hit By Objects although an amnesty was granted in 2001.The Chile “Maracanazo” that left them without two World Cups https://us.bolavip.com
1998 World Cup and 2000 Olympic Games (1996 - 2000)
Chile's qualification for the 1998 World Cup in France marked the national team's return to the tournament after a 16-year absence. Coached by Nelson Acosta, the team had an inconsistent start to the South American qualifiers, but staged a remarkable comeback thanks to their strength at home and the outstanding performance of the attacking duo of Iván Zamorano and Marcelo Salas, who scored 23 of the team's 32 goals. Chile finished fourth, tied on points with Peru but ahead on goal difference, securing their qualification with a convincing 3-0 victory over Bolivia.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, Chile put on a remarkable performance, albeit one marked by frustration. They debuted with a 2-2 draw against Italy after coming from behind with two goals from Marcelo Salas, but just when it seemed they would secure a historic victory, the referee awarded a controversial penalty when the ball struck Ronald Fuentes' hand in the final minutes. Roberto Baggio converted the spot kick to level the score. In their second match, Chile again took the lead thanks to Salas against Austria, but conceded a 93rd-minute equalizer, narrowly missing out on early qualification. In their final group stage match, they drew 1-1 with Cameroon, with an exquisite free-kick goal by José Luis Sierra, securing their place in the round of 16 with three draws. There, they faced the powerful Brazil, the reigning champions, and were defeated 4-1 despite another goal from Salas.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Chile had one of the most memorable campaigns in its history. After topping the group stage with victories over Morocco (4-1) and Spain (3-1), despite a loss to South Korea (0-1), Chile eliminated Nigeria 2-1 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, they lost 1-0 to Cameroon in a hard-fought match, but recovered with a resounding 2-0 victory over the United States in the third-place game, thanks to two goals from Iván Zamorano, securing the bronze medal—the first Olympic medal in the history of Chilean football and one of the most outstanding performances by the national team in international competitions. Zamorano also was the top goal scorer of the tournament.
Crisis and scandals (2001 - 2007) After years of strong performance, the national team experienced a marked decline. They finished last in the qualifiers for the 2002 Korea Japan World Cup. Nelson Acosta continued as coach, but was replaced by Pedro García and then Jorge Garcés. In the 2001 Copa América, they achieved victories against Ecuador and Venezuela, but lost to Mexico in the quarterfinals. Juvenal Olmos was the coach for the new cycle, but the poor results continued. In the 2004 Copa América, they failed to advance beyond the group stage, and they also failed to qualify for the 2006 Germany World Cup finishing in 7th place.
Acosta returned as coach, however, in 2006 during a friendly tour of Dublin, Ireland, a scandal erupted within the national team when the coach overheard women at the team's training camp at night during off-hours. Supposedly, they were fans, but Acosta subsequently dismissed Reinaldo Navia and Mark González from the team.
During the 2007 Copa América tournament, the Chilean Football Federation banned six of the national team players, because of "internal indiscipline", for 20 international matches each as they damaged the team hotel property while under the influence of alcohol. The players banned were captain Jorge Valdivia, defenders Álvaro Ormeño, Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Vargas, Pablo Contreras and striker Reinaldo Navia. 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. Ormeño and Navia were never called up again.
Golden generation (2008 - 2019) Bielsa's era (2008−2012)
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 the Argentina coach. After finishing second place at the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Chile qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa after 12 years absence in good form, with wins to Colombia (4-2), Paraguay (2-0) and Perú (3-1) as visit, and Humberto Suazo being the top goal scorer of the tournament.
The team later reached to the round of 16 at the tournament after two wins against Honduras and Switzerland in the group stage. Despite losing 0–3 to Brazil in the round of 16, marking a good come back to the competition finishing in 10th place.
Marcelo Bielsa still extended his contract with the Chile national team until 2015. Bielsa stated that he would leave his position if Jorge 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. At the 2011 Copa América Chile was upset by Venezuela in the quarterfinals and after a string of bad performances and harsh criticisms, Claudio Borghi stepped down as Chile's manager in November 2012.
Consolidation of the golden generation (2013−2017)
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 coach of the Chile national team. His coaching era witnessed a rise of the golden generation of Chilean football, with numerous talents such as Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Bravo, Gary Medel, Eduardo Vargas, Mauricio Isla, Jorge Valdivia, Matías Fernández, Charles Aránguiz, Jean Beausejour, and Marcelo Díaz among others reaching their prime.
With Sampaoli, Chile were able to qualify for 2014 FIFA World Cup by finishing third in the qualifier. The team caused a strong impression by eliminating the defending champion Spain by 2–0 win with goals from Vargas and Aranguiz. Chile also won at the group stage 3–1 against Australia with Beausejour scoring for the second time in a row in a World Cup, a record, and reaching the round of 16, despite losing 0–2 to the Netherlands. Chile held a dramatic 1–1 draw against the host nation Brazil after a powerful shot from Mauricio Pinilla that hit the post in the 119th minute of extra time. Then only lost 2–3 on the penalty shoot-out, eventually ranked as 9th in the tournament. This ment the third time in a row that Chile lost to Brazil in the round of 16 after their participation in the 1998, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
At the 2015 Copa América where Chile was the host, the team won their first game against Ecuador, with 2–0 win. In their second game, Chile drew 3–3 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). 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.