Team Preview: Chile

Head Coach:	José Letelier	Group:	E
Confederation:	CONMEBOL	Ranking:	37 Highest 36 (2019-2020) Lowest 53 (2006)
Federation:	Federación de Fútbol de Chile
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One of the three participants in 1991’s inaugural South American Women’s Championship, Chile has until recently been among the many CONMEBOL teams crushed under the weight of Brazilian brilliance. With the Canarinhas featuring at every World Cup since the tournament’s inception, the rest of South America has had to share the limelight with the 2003 finalists, as first Argentina, then Colombia and Ecuador made their debuts alongside their heavily-fancied continental counterparts.

Despite having had a thriving domestic competition throughout the 2000s and 2010s and several national team players plying their trade overseas, the jostling for position as “the best of the rest” left Chile with little hope of qualification. Until recently, La Roja had never featured in a major tournament outside South America.

However, for all their years in the wilderness, many Australian fans would be more than familiar with this Chilean team. The rousing cry of “Chi-chi-chi! Lé-lé-lé! Viva Chile!”  – known as the Ceacheí– was most recently heard ringing out in Sydney and Adelaide during the teams’ matches in 2019, as well as at the World Cup in France, where Chile’s fans were among the most boisterous and most well-received by locals. That level of support across the world, as well as a new generation of Chilena stars coming through the ranks in the country’s domestic league and a strong showing in their first-ever major competition two years ago, will give players and fans hope of greater success as La Roja step out for their maiden Olympic tournament.

Squad

Goalkeepers

• Natalia Campos
• Antonia Canales
• Christiane Endler

Defenders

• Valentina Diaz
• Carla Guerrero
• Daniela Pardo
• Fernanda Ramirez
• Camila Saez
• Javiera Toro

Midfielders

• Francisca Lara
• Yanara Aedo
• Karen Araya
• Yessenia Lopez
• Francisca Mardones
• Nayadet Lopez
• Yastin Jimenez

Forwards

• Yenny Acuna
• Rosario Balmaceda
• Javiera Grez
• Fernanda Pinilla
• Maria Jose Urrutia
• Daniela Zamora

Coach

José Letelier has more than a little experience when it comes to organising a team. He was a championship-winning goalkeeper with Santiago-based club Colo-Colo during his playing days, playing a part in his club’s 1991 Libertadores victory. Letelier returned to his roots in 2010, leaving his job as a PE teacher to manage the club’s women’s team. Immediately finding success, Letelier led Colo-Colo to 10 consecutive Chilean championships between 2010 and 2015. In 2012 he became the first person to win both the men’s and women’s Libertadores title when his side beat Brazilian club Faz Cataratas on penalties in the final.

Having reached the zenith of Chilean club football, Letelier was announced as manager of La Roja. He took the senior team from not having played a match in three years to qualifying for a World Cup and Olympic tournament.

A canny operator and skilled organiser, Letelier has shown himself to be increasingly flexible with tactics during his tenure with the national team. He is as willing to deploy a deep block as he is to push his team as high as possible in search of possession.

Last Olympics

Along with Zambia and the Netherlands, Chile will make its Olympic debut at this year’s Games. They will be the 22nd team to feature in the tournament’s history. 

Read more: Zambia team preview

Qualifying Path

Finishing second in their Copa América group behind Colombia, Chile was drawn to play the Cafeteras, Argentina, and old foes Brazil in the final stage. Despite losing 1-3 to eventual champions Brazil, La Roja held Colombia to a tense goalless draw. They then trounced Argentina 4-0 in front of a packed Estadio La Portada, thanks to goals from Camila Sáez, Maryorie Hernández, and Francisca Lara, as well as an own goal to Agustina Barroso.

With their second-placed finish, they had secured World Cup qualification. COVID-19 robbed Chile of the chance to host one match of the two-legged Olympic qualification playoff against African runners-up Cameroon. Instead, the two deciding matches were played at the Turkish seaside town Manavgat. Chile earned a 2-1 win over the Indomitable Lionesses in the first leg, with goals from defenders Sáez and Carla Guerrero. They held on to a win on aggregate following a scoreless draw in the second match, guaranteeing the side’s first-ever Olympic appearance.

The Strengths

As much of a stereotype as “the skilled Latina player” is in modern football, Chile’s technical ability stands them in good stead against even the best teams in the world. Players like Guerrero, Lara, and Yanara Aedo thrive with the ball at their feet in tight spaces, always looking for a short pass or to beat an opponent one-on-one. This fleet-footed play, coupled with Letelier’s organisation of the side’s back five or six, makes Chile a hard team to beat in attack and even harder to close down in defence.

The Challenge

Chile’s biggest challenge is the difference in quality between its maiden World Cup appearance and its first Olympic tournament. With half the teams and less margin for error, Chile will immediately be thrown into the Lionesses’ den against Great Britain. That step up in quality often brings out the best in teams, with Chile hoping to rise to the occasion.

Key Players 

Christiane Endler

Undoubtedly one of the best goalkeepers in women’s football, Christiane Endler is a genuine star of the game in her home country. Most recently playing for French champions Paris Saint-Germain, Endler has steadily climbed the ladder towards greatness for both club and country. Despite her humble beginnings with Unión La Calera in the Chilean Primera División, Endler has gone on to collect league titles in both her homeland and, more recently, in France, as well as playing her part in Colo-Colo’s famous Copa Libertadores Femenina victory in 2012.

Endler is an imposing presence on the pitch, both due to her 1.87m frame and command of the penalty area. Her status as one of the world’s top was made official in 2019, when she placed second in voting for FIFA’s Goalkeeper of the Year award (behind Sari van Veenendaal). Look out for Endler’s calm distribution from the back and her aerial excellence, especially as opponents target Chile’s defence at set pieces.

Carla Guerrero

Known as La Jefa – “the boss” – Carla Guerrero is among Chile’s most experienced players. Since making her debut at the 2006 Copa América, Guerrero has become the second-most-capped Chilena player in history behind Endler. Locally, she recently returned to Universidad to Chile after a two-year stint in Spain with Rayo Vallecano. 

Guerrero will be looking to make a name for herself at another international tournament; she scored the goal against Cameroon in 2018 which eventually secured Chile’s ticket to Tokyo. Her strength in the air and tenacious tackles will be crucial if her side are to progress from the group stage.

Francisca Lara

One of Chile’s few foreign-based players, Francisca Lara has made herself more than comfortable with plying her trade on the opposite side of the world. Lara spent three years in Spain with Sevilla and SC Huelva before taking her services to the north of France, signing a year-long contract with newly-promoted Le Havre in 2021.

Chile’s highest-ever scorer with 20 international goals – including a 25-yard effort to seal her side’s path to the World Cup – Lara’s long-distance shooting will surely be put to good use against three quality oppositions in Tokyo. After missing the penalty that would have put Chile through to the knock-out stages in 2019, expect the woman known as “Pancha” to right the wrongs of two years ago.

One to watch – María José Urrutia

María José Urrutia is the only Chilean woman to score from open play at a World Cup. She came through the youth and senior system at Santiago club Universidad Católica before making the switch to cross-town rivals Palestino. She most recently moved to club giant Colo-Colo after a stint at Brazilian club 3B Amazônas. 

After welcoming daughter Sofía into the world in 2013, Urrutia waited until the 2018 Copa América to earn her first cap with La Roja, eventually cementing her place as Letelier’s preferred starting striker. Urrutia’s poacher’s instinct and late runs into the box will be key for a Chile team likely to play on the counter.

Prediction

In a way a victim if its own success, Chile’s meteoric rise in world football has seen it dealt the cruellest of hands by the draw for Tokyo. Chile’s task is among the most difficult of any team at the tournament: they’ll be squaring off against a World Cup champion, a dual-bronze medallist, and the backbone of a World Cup semi-final team. 

Letelier will have his work cut-out managing both expectations in the squad and the inexperience of his younger players, relative to their 100+ capped opponents. While La Roja has punched above its weight in friendlies, to continue that form across all three matches will likely prove too great a task.

Matches

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