Chile national football team

The Chilean national football team is one of the most successful national football teams in South America. Chile is the third South American country after Argentina and Uruguay to play international matches. La Roja" (The Red) played its first match on 27 May 1910 in Buenos Aires against an Argentine selection team, which it lost 3-1. The next international match followed two days later at the same venue, as part of the Campeonato Sudamericano held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Argentina's May Revolution of 1810, and ended in a 3-0 defeat to the Uruguayan national football team. In 1916, the team participated in the first Campeonato Sudamericano under the aegis of CONMEBOL, in which four teams participated, but finished last with only a single point. Chile finished second in 1955, 1956, 1979 and 1987. It was not until the 2015 Copa América that the first major title was celebrated. They also took the title at the 2016 Copa América Centenario, held to mark the centenary. In both cases, they won on penalties against Argentina in the final. In 1928, the country participated in the Olympic football tournament for the first and only time. Chile was also one of the participants in the first World Cup in 1930, where they only lost to eventual finalists Argentina.

In 1962, Chile hosted the seventh World Cup, finishing in third place, their best finish to date. After that, the maximum they reached was the round of 16. As 2015 South American champions, Chile also took part in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, where they lost to world champions Germany in the final.

In the FIFA World Ranking in November 2015, the team rose from 9th to 5th, which was their best ranking since the introduction of the world rankings. In April 2016, Chile even managed to briefly rise to fourth in the world rankings by beating Venezuela 4-1 in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. However, Chile's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup saw them fall out of the top-10 again, and they are currently ranked 17th in the world rankings (as of October 2020).

Participations in the World Cup

Participations in the Olympic Games