Chile national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chile

Nickname(s)	La Roja (The Red One)
Association	Federación de Fútbol de Chile (FFCh)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Ricardo Gareca
Captain	Alexis Sánchez
Most caps	Alexis Sánchez (166)
Top scorer	Alexis Sánchez (51)
Home stadium	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos
FIFA code	CHI
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	13 (7 February 2019)
Highest	3 (April–May 2016)
Lowest	84 (December 2002)
Elo ranking
Current	17 2 (3 March 2019)
Highest	2 (7 July 2016)
Lowest	59 (8 June 2003)
First international
Argentina 3–1 Chile  (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 27 May 1910)
Biggest win
Chile 7–0 Venezuela  (Santiago, Chile; 29 August 1979) Chile  7–0  Armenia (Viña del mar, Chile; 4 January 1997)  Mexico 0–7 Chile  (Santa Clara, United States; 18 June 2016)
Biggest defeat
Brazil 7–0 Chile  (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 17 September 1959)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1930)
Best result	Third place (1962)
Copa América
Appearances	41 (first in 1916)
Best result	Champions (2015, 2016)
Panamerican Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 1952)
Best result	Runners-up (1952)
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2017)
Best result	Runners-up (2017)
Medal record Men's football FIFA World Cup Bronze 1962 Chile Team Copa América Gold 2015 Chile 2016 United States Gold 2016 United States Team Silver 1955 Chile Team Silver 1956 Uruguay Team Silver 1979 South America Team Silver 1987 Argentina Team Bronze 1926 Chile Team Bronze 1941 Chile Team Bronze 1945 Chile Team Bronze 1967 Uruguay Team Bronze 1991 Chile Team FIFA Confederations Cup Silver 2017 Russia Team Panamerican Championship Silver 1952 Chile Team

The Chile national football team, often called La Roja (which means "The Red One" in Spanish), represents Chile in international men's football games. The team is managed by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile, which started in 1895. Chile has played in nine World Cup tournaments. They hosted the 1962 FIFA World Cup and finished in third place, which is their best World Cup result ever.

Chile won their first Copa América title in 2015 on their home ground, beating Argentina in the final. The next year, they won the Copa América Centenario in the United States, again defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout. Before these wins, Chile had been runners-up in the Copa América four times. Because they won the 2015 Copa América, they got to play in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. They finished second in that tournament, losing to Germany in their first time playing in the event.

The History of La Roja

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

The Football Federation of Chile is one of the oldest football groups in South America, founded in Valparaíso on June 19, 1895. Chile was one of the four founding countries of CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation. Along with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, they played in the first South American Championship (now called the Copa América) in 1916.

Chile was one of the 13 teams that played in the very first World Cup in 1930. They started strong, winning against Mexico and France without letting in any goals. However, a 3-1 loss to Argentina meant they finished second in their group and were out of the tournament. In the 1950 World Cup, Chile beat the United States 5-2, but they were still eliminated in the first round.

Chile's best performance in the World Cup was third place in 1962, when they were the host country. They lost 4-2 to Brazil in the semi-final, but then beat Yugoslavia 1-0 to secure third place. Chilean players also made some World Cup firsts: Guillermo Subiabre was the first player to miss a penalty kick in a World Cup match in 1930, and Carlos Caszely was the first player to get a red card in a World Cup game in 1974.

A famous event called "El Maracanazo" happened on September 3, 1989. During a World Cup qualifying match against Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was leading 1-0. Chile's goalkeeper, Roberto Rojas, fell to the ground with an injury. A firework had landed nearby. The Chilean team said it wasn't safe to play, and the game stopped. However, videos showed that the firework did not hit Rojas. FIFA decided that Brazil won the game, and Chile was banned from the next World Cup qualifiers. Rojas was also banned from football for life, though he was later allowed to return in 2001.

After some changes in coaches, Marcelo Bielsa became Chile's manager. On October 16, 2008, Chile made history by beating Argentina 1-0 in a qualifying match for the first time ever. This was a big achievement for the team.

Chile finished second in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and reached the Round of 16 in the tournament. Marcelo Bielsa then left his coaching role in 2011. Claudio Borghi took over, but after some difficult games, Jorge Sampaoli became the new manager in December 2012. Sampaoli, who was inspired by Bielsa, helped La Roja achieve great results.

Chile (red and blue) playing against tournament hosts Brazil (yellow and white), in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

With Sampaoli as coach, Chile qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They reached the Round of 16, where they lost to the host nation, Brazil, in a penalty shootout.

In the 2015 Copa América, Chile won their first game 2-0 against Ecuador. They drew against Mexico and moved to the knockout stage as group winners. They then beat Uruguay and Peru. In the final, Chile defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout (4-1) after a 0-0 draw, winning their first Copa América title!

In January 2016, Jorge Sampaoli left his role as manager. Juan Antonio Pizzi took over and led La Roja to win the Copa América Centenario in 2016, again beating Argentina in the final.

Chile played in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia because they won the Copa América. They won their first game against Cameroon 2-0. They drew 1-1 with Germany and also drew with Australia. They made it to the semi-finals, where they beat Portugal in a penalty shootout (3-0). In their first ever final in a FIFA tournament, Chile lost 1-0 to Germany.

On October 10, 2017, Chile lost 3-0 to Brazil and did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. This was a tough moment for what many called their "golden generation" of players.

Team Colors and Sponsors

The team's home uniform is a red jersey, blue shorts, and either red or white socks. The away uniform is a white jersey, white shorts, and blue socks. These red, white, and blue colors have been used since 1947. In 2016, red shorts became an option for the first time.

Different companies have made Chile's uniforms over the years. From 2011 to 2015, Puma was the official kit supplier. After that, Nike took over from 2015 to 2021. Since 2021, Adidas has been the national team's kit supplier, and they will continue until 2026.

Kit Sponsors Over Time

Kit supplier	Period
Adidas	1979–1983
Penalty	1984
Puma	1985
Umbro	1986
Power	1987
Puma	1987–1988
Adidas	1988–1990
Umbro	1990–1991
Avia	1992
Adidas	1993–1994
Rhumell	1995
Reebok	1996–2000
Umbro	2000–2002
Brooks	2003–2010
Puma	2010–2015
Nike	2015–2021
Adidas	2021–present

Home Stadium

Estadio Nacional at night.

The Chile national team plays its home qualifying matches at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos. This stadium is in Santiago, Chile. It was built starting in February 1937 and opened on December 3, 1938. The stadium can officially hold 49,000 fans, but it has held over 75,000 people for very popular matches, like the 1962 FIFA World Cup semi-final between Chile and Brazil. The highest number of people ever at the stadium was 85,262 in 1962.

The Estadio Nacional has hosted four Copa América finals, the final of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and the final of the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Big Rivalries

Chile doesn't have one main rival, but games against Argentina and Peru are always very important.

Argentina

Chile and Argentina have played 96 games against each other, making it the most common opponent for Chile. Their first game was in Buenos Aires on May 27, 1910. Matches between these two teams always attract large crowds in Chile. Out of 90 games, Chile had only won 1 official match until their victories in the 2015 and 2016 Copa América finals, which they won in penalty shootouts.

Peru

The football rivalry between Chile and Peru is known as the Clásico del Pacífico ("Pacific Derby"). This rivalry is considered one of the most intense in the world. It comes from historical events and border disputes between the two countries. The rivalry has led to some very exciting matches in South American football history. Chile first played Peru in 1935 and lost 1-0.

Brazil

While Brazil has a strong record against Chile, these two teams have met in the knockout stages of the last three World Cups Chile played in: 1998, 2010, and 2014. In the 2014 World Cup, their match ended 1-1 after extra time. Brazil won 3-2 in a penalty shootout, with their goalkeeper saving two penalties. They also met in the semi-finals of the 1962 World Cup, where Brazil won and went on to win the tournament.

Brazil also defeated Chile in important qualifying games for the 1990, 2018, and 2022 FIFA World Cups, which meant Chile did not qualify for those tournaments. The 1990 qualifier included the famous "Maracanazo" incident, where Chile's goalkeeper was involved in a controversy that led to Chile being disqualified from that World Cup and banned from the next one.

Sponsors

The Chile national football team has several important sponsors who support them. These include:

• ACHS (2023–2026)
• Adidas (since 2021)
• BCI (2023–2026)
• Chilevisión (TV broadcaster of Chile's qualifying and friendly matches) (2023–2026)
• Cristal (since 2007)
• Gatorade (2023–2026)
• McDonald's (2023–2026)
• MG Motor (2023–2026)
• PedidosYa (2023–2026)
• SꓘY (2023–2026)

Coaching Staff

The team is led by a group of coaches and support staff:

Position	Name
Manager	Ricardo Gareca
Assistant Manager 1	Sergio Santin
Fitness Coach	Nestor Bonillo
Goalkeeping Coach	Bruno Vasquez
Doctor	Fernando Yáñez
Kinesiologist	Pedro Oñate
Props Assistant	Wilson Vásquez
Physicist's assistant	Sebastian Rojas

Team Players

Current Squad

The players listed below were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in November 2024.

Caps (games played) and goals are updated as of November 19, 2024.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Lawrence Vigouroux	(1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 (age 31)	0	0	Swansea City
12	1GK	Vicente Reyes	(2003-11-19) 19 November 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Cambridge United
23	1GK	Brayan Cortés	(1995-03-11) 11 March 1995 (age 30)	20	0	Colo-Colo
2	2DF	Erick Wiemberg	(1994-06-20) 20 June 1994 (age 31)	1	0	Colo-Colo
3	2DF	Guillermo Maripán	(1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 31)	52	2	Torino
4	2DF	Mauricio Isla	(1988-06-12) 12 June 1988 (age 37)	144	5	Colo-Colo
5	2DF	Paulo Díaz	(1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 (age 30)	52	1	River Plate
6	2DF	Francisco Sierralta	(1997-05-06) 6 May 1997 (age 28)	15	0	Watford
13	2DF	Benjamín Kuscevic	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 29)	10	0	Fortaleza
14	2DF	Fabián Hormazábal	(1996-04-26) 26 April 1996 (age 29)	1	0	Universidad de Chile
17	2DF	Gabriel Suazo	(1997-08-09) 9 August 1997 (age 27)	31	0	Toulouse
8	3MF	Arturo Vidal (vice-captain)	(1987-05-22) 22 May 1987 (age 38)	144	34	Colo-Colo
10	3MF	Luciano Cabral	(1995-04-26) 26 April 1995 (age 30)	1	0	León
15	3MF	Diego Valdés	(1994-01-30) 30 January 1994 (age 31)	35	2	América
16	3MF	Vicente Pizarro	(2002-11-05) 5 November 2002 (age 22)	4	0	Colo-Colo
18	3MF	Rodrigo Echeverría	(1995-04-17) 17 April 1995 (age 30)	19	1	Huracán
21	3MF	Esteban Pavez	(1990-05-01) 1 May 1990 (age 35)	16	0	Colo-Colo
7	4FW	Gonzalo Tapia	(2002-02-18) 18 February 2002 (age 23)	3	0	Universidad Católica
9	4FW	Felipe Mora	(1993-08-02) 2 August 1993 (age 31)	11	1	Portland Timbers
11	4FW	Eduardo Vargas	(1989-11-20) 20 November 1989 (age 35)	118	45	Atlético Mineiro
19	4FW	Maximiliano Guerrero	(2000-01-15) 15 January 2000 (age 25)	3	0	Universidad de Chile
20	4FW	Lucas Cepeda	(2002-10-31) 31 October 2002 (age 22)	3	2	Colo-Colo
22	4FW	Alexander Aravena	(2002-09-06) 6 September 2002 (age 22)	11	0	Grêmio

Player Records

These tables show the players who have played the most games and scored the most goals for Chile. Players whose names are in bold are still playing for the national team.

Most Games Played

Alexis Sánchez is Chile's top goalscorer and their most capped player.

Top Goal Scorers

Team Captains

Here are some of the players who have been captains for the Chile national football team:

• Sergio Navarro (1961–1962)
• Leonel Sánchez (1963–1969)
• Francisco Valdés (1969–1974)
• Elías Figueroa (1974–1982)
• Carlos Caszely (1982–1985)
• Roberto Rojas (1985–1989)
• Jaime Pizarro (1990–1993)
• Iván Zamorano (1993–2001)
• Marcelo Salas (2001–2007)
• David Pizarro (2002–2005)
• Claudio Bravo (2008–2024)
• Alexis Sánchez (2024–)

How Chile Has Played in Big Tournaments

FIFA World Cup

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Group stage	5th	3	2	0	1	5	3	Squad		Qualified as invitees
1934	Withdrew										Withdrew
1938
1950	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	5	6	Squad		Qualified automatically
1954	Did not qualify										4	0	0	4	1	10
1958											4	1	0	3	2	10
1962	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	10	8	Squad		Qualified as hosts
1966	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad		5	3	1	1	14	8
1970	Did not qualify										4	1	2	1	5	4
1974	Group stage	11th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad		5	3	1	1	6	3
1978	Did not qualify										4	2	1	1	5	3
1982	Group stage	22nd	3	0	0	3	3	8	Squad		4	3	1	0	6	0
1986	Did not qualify										8	4	2	2	17	12
1990											4	2	1	1	9	4
1994	Banned										Banned
1998	Round of 16	16th	4	0	3	1	5	8	Squad		16	7	4	5	32	18
2002	Did not qualify										18	3	3	12	15	27
2006											18	5	7	6	18	22
2010	Round of 16	10th	4	2	0	2	3	5	Squad		18	10	3	5	32	22
2014		9th	4	2	1	1	6	4	Squad		16	9	1	6	29	25
2018	Did not qualify										18	8	2	8	26	27
2022											18	5	4	9	19	26
2026	Qualification in progress										12	2	3	7	9	20
2030	To be determined										To be determined
2034
Total	Third place	9/22	33	11	7	15	40	49	—		177	68	36	73	245	243

Copa América

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1916	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	2	11	Squad
1917	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	0	10	Squad
1919	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	12	Squad
1920	Fourth place	4th	3	0	1	2	2	4	Squad
1921	Withdrew
1922	Fifth place	5th	4	0	1	3	1	10	Squad
1923	Withdrew
1924	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	10	Squad
1925	Withdrew
1926	Third place	3rd	4	2	1	1	14	6	Squad
1927	Withdrew
1929	Did not participate
1935	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	2	7	Squad
1937	Fifth place	5th	5	1	1	3	12	13	Squad
1939	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	8	12	Squad
1941	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	6	3	Squad
1942	Sixth place	6th	6	1	1	4	4	15	Squad
1945	Third place	3rd	6	4	1	1	15	5	Squad
1946	Fifth place	5th	5	2	0	3	8	11	Squad
1947	Fourth place	4th	7	4	1	2	14	13	Squad
1949	Fifth place	5th	7	2	1	4	10	14	Squad
1953	Fourth place	4th	6	3	1	2	10	10	Squad
1955	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	19	8	Squad
1956	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	0	2	11	8	Squad
1957	Sixth place	6th	6	1	1	4	9	17	Squad
1959	Fifth place	5th	6	2	1	3	9	14	Squad
1959	Did not participate
1963
1967	Third place	3rd	5	2	2	1	8	6	Squad
1975	Group stage	6th	4	1	1	2	7	6	Squad
1979	Runners-up	2nd	9	4	3	2	13	6	Squad
1983	Group stage	5th	4	2	1	1	8	2	Squad
1987	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	9	3	Squad
1989	Group stage	5th	4	2	0	2	7	5	Squad
1991	Third place	3rd	7	3	2	2	11	6	Squad
1993	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	3	4	Squad
1995	Group stage	11th	3	0	1	2	3	8	Squad
1997	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	1	5	Squad
1999	Fourth place	4th	6	2	1	3	8	7	Squad
2001	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	0	2	5	5	Squad
2004	Group stage	10th	3	0	1	2	2	4	Squad
2007	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	11	Squad
2011	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	5	4	Squad
2015	Champions	1st	6	4	2	0	13	4	Squad
2016	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	16	5	Squad
2019	Fourth place	4th	6	2	1	3	7	7	Squad
2021	Quarter-finals	7th	5	1	2	2	3	5	Squad
2024	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	0	1	Squad
Total	2 Titles	41/48	191	67	35	89	291	317	—

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2009
2013
2017	Runners-up	2nd	5	1	3	1	4	3	Squad
Total	Runners-up	1/10	5	1	3	1	4	3	—

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1896	No football tournament
1900	Only club teams participated
1904
1908	Did not participate
1912
1920
1924
1928	Preliminary round	17th	3	1	1	1	7	7	Squad
1932	No football tournament
1936	Withdrew
1948	Did not participate
1952	Preliminary round	17th	1	0	0	1	4	5	Squad
1956	Did not participate
1960	Did not qualify
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	2	1	2	2	Squad
1988	Did not qualify
Since 1992	See Chile national under-23 football team
Total	Quarter-finals	3/19	8	6	3	5	27	20	—

Pan American Games

Pan American Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Bronze medal	3rd	4	1	2	1	8	6
1955	Did not participate
1959
1963	Bronze medal	3rd	4	2	1	1	12	6
1967	Did not participate
1971
1975
1979
1983	Round 1	4th	3	1	2	0	3	2
1987	Silver medal	2nd	5	2	2	1	6	6
1991	Did not participate
1995	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	1	2	3	6
Since 1999	See Chile national under-23 football team
Total	Silver medal	5/12	20	7	8	5	32	26

Awards and Trophies

Major Competitions

Worldwide Tournaments

• FIFA World Cup
  • Third place (1): 1962
• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2017

Continental Tournaments

• South American Championship/Copa América
  • Champions (2): 2015, 2016
  • Runners-up (4): 1955, 1956, 1979, 1987
  • Third place (5): 1926, 1941, 1945, 1967, 1991
• Panamerican Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 1952

Friendly Competitions

Chile has also won several friendly tournaments:

• Copa Bernardo O'Higgins (vs  Brazil)
  • Champions (2): 1957, 1966 (shared)
• Copa Teixeira (vs  Brazil)
  • Champions (1): 1990 (shared)
• Copa Carlos Dittborn (vs  Argentina)
  • Champions (1): 1973
• Copa Juan Pinto Durán (vs  Uruguay)
  • Champions (2): 1971, 1979
• Copa del Pacífico (vs  Peru)
  • Champions (7) 1965, 1968, 1971 (shared), 1983, 1988, 2006, 2012
• Copa Leoncio Provoste (vs  Bolivia)
  • Champions (1): 1973
• Copa Acosta Ñu (vs  Paraguay)
  • Champions (1): 1974
• Canada Cup
  • Champions (1): 1995
• Copa Ciudad de Valparaíso
  • Champions (1): 2000
• China Cup
  • Champions (1): 2017
• Indonesian Independence Cup
  • Champions (1): 1985

Summary of Titles

Senior competition				Total
FIFA World Cup	0	0	1	1
FIFA Confederations Cup	0	1	0	1
Copa América	2	4	5	11
Panamerican Championship	0	1	0	1
Total	2	6	6	14

Images for kids

• 

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

• 

  Chile (red and blue) playing against tournament hosts Brazil (yellow and white), in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

• 

  Estadio Nacional at night.

• 

  Alexis Sánchez is Chile's top goalscorer and their most capped player.

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Chile para niños

• 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