Eight World Cups and counting: will Chile ever win a trophy?
Chile are a footbaling nation described as “consistent” competitors but without any silverware to gloat. With no international trophies to their name, the South American side's closest chance at winning football's greatest prize was back in 1962 when Chile hosted the World Cup, rapping up the tournament as third place finishers. Their 2014 campaign in Brazil will be their ninth appearance, featuring in eight previous competitions, as La Roja withdrew in 1934 and 1938, were disqualified in 1990, banned in 1994, and failed to qualify on seven different occasions throughout the World Cup's history.
The road to number nine
Chile's qualification journey was an impressive one as the world number-13 ranked team finished third, only four points behind the CONMEBOL leaders, Argentina. Ranked fifth out of all South American nations, Chile qualified for Brazil with 28 points from 16 games, scoring 29 goals on the way. As a result, they were grouped with Spain, Netherlands, and Australia in group B, facing a stern test to make it past the first round.
Can La Roja perform without their midfield marshal?
With Chile going against the 2010 World Cup finalists, Spain and Netherlands, La Roja will need all their players to perform to the best of their capabilities, and their superstars even further, if they are to withstand a chance of making round of 16.
Unfortunately, arguably the South American side's best player, Juventus midfield ace Arturo Vidal, is still recovering from a knee injury, jeopardizing his fitness ahead of their opening game against Australia, on June 13.
This leaves the responsibility of guiding Chile past the group stages on the shoulders of their next two biggest stars: Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez and Valencia's Eduardo Vargas, who scored 4 and 5 goals in the qualifiers, respectively.
Sampaoli Style
Jorge Sampaoli, the Chilean national team coach, is the man with the daunted task of leading La Roja into the round of 16, in Brazil. The Argentine, known for a lethal attacking style of football, has been the coach of the South American side since 2012 when he took over to turn around the nations fortunes, leading them to three wins out of the four games in the World Cup qualifiers after his appointment, as they booked their World Cup spot.
The final squad
Chile are yet to announce their final 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup, with only their 30-man provisional squad being revealed.
For all broadcast, live stream and channel information, check out Chile's match page.
