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The Chilean national football team represents Chile in all major international football competitions. The team is controlled by the Federacion de Futbol de Chile which was established in 1895. They have appeared in seven World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup finishing in third place.

History

The Federacion de Futbol de Chile is the second oldest South American federation, with 114 years of existence. Its foundation dates back to 19 June 1895 in the port city of Valparaiso. Its first President was David Scott.

Chile is one of the four founding member nations of CONMEBOL which include Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The members established the South American footballing organization on 9 July 1916. The four associations enacted and participated in the first held South American Championship which would later be re-named the Copa America.

Chile is one of the original thirteen national teams that competed in the inaugural 1930 World Cup. They started off well beating Mexico and France without conceding a goal. A 3-1 loss to Argentina in their final game left them in second place within the group, eliminating them from the tournament. In the 1950 World Cup, Chile was eliminated in the first round but defeated the United States 5-2.

Their best World Cup result was a third place finish in 1962, when Chile was the host nation. Chile lost 4-2 to eventual champions Brazil in a semifinals match. Chile went on to defeat Yugoslavia 1-0 for third place.

Many historical incidences have occurred while Chile has been involved in World Cup competition. The first player to miss a World Cup penalty kick was Guillermo Subiabre in a 1930 FIFA World Cup match against France. Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be officially sent off with a red card in a 1974 World Cup game, during their match against West Germany. Red cards were formally introduced in World Cup play in 1970, but no players were sent off in that tournament.

In Olympic tournament play, Chile's best result was the Bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, with striker Ivan Zamorano the competition's top scorer.

Chile has also attained bronze medals in both the U-17 World Cup held in Japan and the U-20 World Cup in Canada. The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship hosted in Chile had the national team finishing in fourth place.

Notable past Chilean players include Guillermo Subiabre, Sergio Livingstone, George Robledo, Enrique Hormazabal, Leonel Sanchez, Elias Figueroa, Carlos Caszely, Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano.

World Cup history

1930 World Cup

At the first ever FIFA World Cup held in Uruguay 1930, Chile was to be among the first of thirteen nations invited to participate in the inaugural tournament.

The manager in charge of the Chilean national team was the young Hungarian Gyorgy Orth. Chile was part of Group 1 that included national teams such as Argentina, Mexico, and France.

Chile had an impressive start defeating the Mexican national team by a score of 3-0 on 16 July, then beating France 1-0 on 19 July. Sharing the same amount of points, the decisive game was against the neighboring country of Argentina. The game was played on 22 July at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. The game ended 3-1 in Argentina's favor, and the scoreline prevented Chile from qualifying onto the second round.

1950 World Cup

The 1950 edition of the FIFA World Cup was held in the South American country of Brazil. The Chilean national team manager at the tournament was Alberto Bucciardi, while the team captain was the starting goal keeper Sergio Livingstone. "La Roja" were located in group 2 and Chile eventually lost their first two games against Spain and England by the similar score of 2-0. The last match was played with the United States where Chile went on to win by a score of 5-2, even though it was not to be enough for Chile in advancing onto the next round of the tournament.

1962 World Cup

The 1962 World Cup in Chile was to be the third World Cup hosted on South American soil.

In 1960 the Great Chilean Earthquake would strike the country with the highest recorded magnitude in world history of 9.5 on the Richter scale. Despite the natural disaster plans went as followed for Chile to be the host nation of this World Cup tournament.

The host country won their first match against Switzerland by 3-1. The second match against Italy (2-0) became known as the Battle of Santiago. Although only two players were sent off by the English referee Ken Aston, the match saw repeated, deliberate attempts from players on both sides to harm opponents, and the teams needed police protection to leave the field in safety. Years later Ken Aston went on to invent the yellow and red cards used in football.

Chile defeated European champions USSR that included Lev Yashin to land themselves a semi-final game against the defending World Champions Brazil but a capacity crowd of 76,600 watched Brazil beat the hosts 4-2. This game saw Garrincha sent off for Brazil and Landa sent off for Chile. Chile eventually went on to take third place in a 1-0 victory over Yugoslavia in the playoff.

The team is said to have eaten Swiss cheese before beating Switzerland, spaghetti before beating Italy, and drank vodka before beating the USSR. They also drank coffee before the match against Brazil, although they did not win that match. This was Chile's best performance in a World Cup.

1966 World Cup

England was the stage for the eighth World Cup. It was also to be the first European World Cup that Chile would participate in. Qualifying for the 1966 edition ended with a play-off between Ecuador in Lima, Peru on 12 October 1965. The current Chilean manager at the time Francisco Hormazabal decided to resign from that position. Chile immediately needed a replacement, and Luis Alamos would take the reins of the national team. The match against Ecuador finished 2-1 in Chile's favor, both goals scored by Leonel Sanchez and Ruben Marcos, and the result secured Chile's World Cup berth.

Chile was unable to repeat the same success found in the previous World Cup of 1962. Among the nations congregated in group 4 which included the Soviet Union, Italy, and North Korea, Chile was only able to gain 1 point with a 1-1 draw against North Korea. Chile scored two goals in the 1966 World Cup both coming from Ruben Marcos.

1974 World Cup

Chile qualified for Deutschland 74 after a controversial play-off with the USSR. Following a drawn first leg in Moscow, the Soviets refused to play the second leg at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, which had been used as a concentration camp by the military dictatorship of Pinochet. However, FIFA refused to switch the match to a neutral venue, and the Soviets refused to fly to Santiago. The Chilean players kicked off on an otherwise empty pitch, scored into the unguarded USSR net, and because there was no opposition to restart the game, the referee awarded the match to Chile, ensuring they qualified for the 1974 finals.

At the tournament itself, Chile lost their opening game 1-0 to West Germany in Berlin, thanks to a long-range shot from Paul Breitner. Striker Carlos Caszely was controversially sent off in the second half.

Guided by coach Luis Alamos, Chile then fought out a 1-1 draw with East Germany, again in Berlin. Martin Hoffmann put the GDR ahead, but Sergio Ahumada equalised with 20 minutes left. Finally, they got another draw, this time a goalless one, against Australia, which eliminated both teams.

1982 World Cup

At Espana 82, the Chileans performed poorly with an aging team in which Carlos Caszely and the 35-year-old central defender Elias Figueroa were still the main men. Guided by coach Luis Santibanez they lost their first game 1-0 to Austria in Oviedo, Walter Schachner scoring the only goal midway through the first half. Caszely missed a penalty soon afterwards.

Chile were then beaten 4-1 in Gijon by a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge-inspired West Germany, with goalkeeper Mario Osben making a couple of costly errors; Gustavo Moscoso grabbed a late consolation goal. Finally, against Algeria, Chile were overrun in the first half and went in at half-time 3-0 behind, but managed to save some face with second-half goals from Miguel Neira and Juan Carlos Letelier.

Disqualification and banishment from the 1990 & 1994 World Cups

''La Roja's'' most infamous moment known as The Roberto Rojas Scandal (also known in Chile as the "Maracanazo") occurred on 3 September 1989. During a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium, Brazil led Chile 1-0. A defeat for Chile would eliminate them from the tournament. At around the 67-minute mark, Chilean goalkeeper Roberto "Condor" Rojas fell to the pitch with an apparent injury to his forehead. A firework, thrown from the stands by a Brazilian fan named Rosemary de Mello, was smouldering about a yard away. After carrying Rojas off the pitch, the Chilean players and coaches refused to return claiming conditions were not safe. The match went unfinished.

After studying video footage of the match showing that the firework had not made contact with Rojas, FIFA awarded Brazil a 2-0 win (eliminating Chile from the 1990 World Cup). The team was banned from the qualifiers of the 1994 Football World Cup, and Rojas was banned for life (although an amnesty was granted in 2001).

1998 World Cup

Chile qualified for the World Cup in France in 1998 having been banned from entering the 1994 tournament. They were drawn in Group B, along with Italy, Cameroon and Austria. With much expected of their strike partnership of Marcelo Salas and Ivan Zamorano, Chile drew impressively with Italy in Bordeaux in their opening match, 2-2, with Salas scoring both goals in reply to Christian Vieri's opener. The game was most noted for Roberto Baggio's late equalizer for Italy with an extremely controversial penalty, banishing memories of his fatal miss in the 1994 final against Brazil in Los Angeles. But due to this bad performance, the referee Lucien Bouchardeau from Niger was dismissed from further matches during the WC.

Chile drew their next two matches 1-1. The first was a cagey game with Austria in St-Etienne. Salas opened the scoring with a disputed goal scored from close range (the Austrians protested his shot never crossed the line), but Austria, as they had in their first match against Cameroon, equalised in the last minute, Ivica Vastic scoring a spectacular long-range effort.

Against Cameroon in Nantes five days later, Jose Luis Sierra's free-kick gave Chile the lead, but the Africans fought back strongly and equalised with a header from Patrick Mboma. Despite having Rigobert Song and Lauren Etame Mayer sent off, Cameroon played a good second half, but Chile was able to keep the result.

Italy had been the only team to win in the group, so Chile's unbeaten record took them into the last 16, and a tie with South American rivals Brazil at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The Brazilians took Chile to pieces in the first half, despite Zamorano's superb performance (the footage of him passionately singing the national anthem prior to kick-off was one of the most enduring images of the tournament). Cesar Sampaio scored twice early on, and a Ronaldo penalty made it 3-0 before half-time. Chile courageously kept fighting, and Salas got his fourth goal of the competition, heading in a rebound after Claudio Taffarel had saved from Zamorano, but Ronaldo scored again quickly and Chile were out of the tournament. Despite the loss finishing among the top 16 of the tournament was perceived as a prosperous campaign amid the disappointments with controversy and scandal that had disqualified Chile in previous World Cup tournaments.

2010 World Cup

On 10 October 2009, Chile qualified for the 2010 World Cup with a 4-2 away win against Colombia. At the end of the qualification they eventually finished in second place, ahead of Paraguay on goal difference following the latter's defeat to Colombia.. They were drawn in Group H with Spain, Switzerland and Honduras.

History (Results) at the Summer Olympic Games

1928 Olympic Games Results

1952 Summer Olympic Results

1984 Summer Olympic Results

Summer Olympic Games 2000 in Sydney

In January 2000 was played on the South American Olympic Qualifying Tournament U23 2000 Londrina in the Brazilian city to choose the two U23 teams representing South America for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina reached the final run of Londrina. The Chilean team, the Red Uruguayans defeated 4-1 and then lost 3-1 to Brazil, so it should define against Argentina. Everything was the same in points and goals between them so the teams that scored, ranked at Sydney. In the 86th minute, Reinaldo Navia scored the only goal of the game and gave the tickets to the Australian continent for the national team. The tournament rules allowed the Olympians selected reinforced with three players 'adult', so included Chile Nelson Tapia, Pedro Reyes and Ivan Zamorano in such equipment. Back in the game, on 14 September 2000, Chile was faced with the choice of Morocco, defeating it 4-1 with three goals and one of Navia Zamorano. Three days later, in the same sub-headquarters in Melbourne, the goals of Olarra and Navia (2) scored the 3-1 final that was won with the selection of Spain. In Adelaide, South Korea defeated the South American team 1-0, but anyway, Chile ranked as the leader in group B. On day 23, in the quarterfinals, Chile faced Nigeria. Contreras, Zamorano, Navia and Taylor scored, getting the 4-1 with that imposed at the picture of Africa. Melbourne got back to the Chilean national team in the semifinals against Cameroon. However, the team was eliminated 2-1 . Finally, Chile reached the bronze medal, beating the U.S. team with two goals from Ivan Zamorano.

2000 Summer Olympic Results

Current status

Chile finished with a record of 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the matches played in 2006. It all started with the friendlies preparing teams for the 2006 World Cup. The tour included many of the players who started in Copa America 2007 as well as the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers. They beat the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in Dublin, drew with the Cote d'Ivoire 1-1 in Paris, France and drew with Sweden 1-1 in the Rasunda Stadium Stockholm. Chile lost to Colombia 2-1 in Santiago de Chile but beat Peru twice, 3-2 in a home game in Vina del Mar and 1-0 in an away game in Tacna, Peru, a few days later. The team then beat Paraguay 3-2 in Vina del Mar, Chile. The year ended with a 1-0 loss to Aragon in Zaragoza, Spain with Elias Figueroa as a guest coach and a "B" team. In 2007 in February, they earned a 1-0 victory over Venezuela, but in March, in the return to Sweden (this time in Gothenburg), the team lost against Brazil 4-0. The next week,in Talca, the team drew 1-1 against Costa Rica. Chile then drew 0-0 against Argentina, in Mendoza, Argentina.

Results 2005-2007 With Nelson Acosta

On 11 July 2007, the Chilean Football Federation banned six of the national team players, because of "internal indiscipline" during the Copa America tournament, for 20 international matches each and none of the players will ever be allowed to captain the national team. The players banned were captain Jorge Valdivia, defenders Alvaro Ormeno, Rodrigo Tello, Jorge Vargas and Pablo Contreras and striker Reinaldo Navia. Nelson Acosta's resignation as manager came after Chile were knocked out of the 2007 Copa America. Chile had qualified to the quarter-finals after a win against Ecuador 3-2, and a draw against Mexico 0-0. But, two losses against Brazil sealed Acosta's fate. Former Argentina manager Marcelo Bielsa was given the task of becoming the current Chile national team manager in preparation for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

In 16 October 2008, Chile beat Argentina 1-0 for the first time in a qualifying competition, making history. Marcelo Bielsa was acclaimed for this defeat from both Chilean and Argentinian people, and this was one of the reasons that ended in the resigning of Alfio Basile from the Argentinian bench.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification standings

2010 FIFA World Cup
Group H

Latest results

Upcoming fixtures

There will be 4 friendlies matches on May 26, May 30 and June 4 (at Chile) and a friendly match at South Africa on June 9 or 10

Players

Current squad

The following 18 players were called up for the friendly matches against the cancelled games between and , on March 3, 2010. They were cancelled due to the 2010 Chile earthquake.

Caps and goals as of January 20, 2010, subsequent to the friendly match against .

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