Preview
The road to Qatar 2022 continues in South America, with the latest round of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers taking place this midweek. One interesting tie will see a Chile side in search of some form take on Bolivia in Santiago, with this 9:30 p.m. ET tie set to be held at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos.
Martin Lasarte's crew head into this home clash on the back of a fortunate 1-1 draw with Argentina, with La Roja holding on for a point against a tricky La Albiceleste side in the race to make it to Qatar. Lionel Messi broke the deadlock in the 24th minute courtesy of a penalty but Alexis Sanchez brought his nation back level just over 10 minutes later. The two-time World Cup champions mounted a late surge, with La Pulga, in particular, coming close to a second goal on a few occasions, but the score line remained that way until the final whistle.
Regardless, Chile missed out on a win and, subsequently, an opportunity to climb up the table. While the home side are only two points behind fourth-placed Paraguay, Alexis Sanchez and Co. are in seventh and only a point ahead of eighth-placed Bolivia, who they will be facing on Tuesday.
La Roja have picked up only two wins from their last five outings, which is a concern. In fact, from their last 14 ties, Chile have won only four times, losing an unimpressive six times while drawing four. Failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup is not an immediate concern as only five rounds have been played so far, but until Alexis Sanchez and Co. string together a few favorable results, their fans may worry over their Copa America campaign.
They kick off the tournament next Monday, meaning the clash with Bolivia will be their last before the CONMEBOL competition gets under way. Their first match will be against Argentina, an amazing but beatable side. Should they beat La Verde in this World Cup qualifier, then the 2015 Copa champions could enter the summer tournament with a bit of confidence.
The visitors enter this clash on the back of a 3-1 triumph over Venezuela but were on a six-game winless streak prior to that. In fact, the recent triumph was only their second win in their last 20 fixtures. Will they make Chile their third victims? Tune in to find out.
Team news
Chile: Eduardo Vargas, Alexis Sanchez, Gary Medel and Claudio Bravo are all expected to start. Arturo Vidal, on the other hand, will sit this tie out as he continues his recovery from COVID-19.
Bolivia: The visitors have no injury concerns.
Key stats
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This will be the 15th encounter between these two South American sides.
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Chile expectedly boast the superior head-to-head record, winning 10 of their previous 14 run-ins.
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Bolivia, meanwhile, have managed only two victories over their opponents.
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Their most recent encounter ended in a 2-1 triumph for La Roja.
Broadcast listings
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
