The midweek friendly international schedule sees Bolivia welcome South American neighbours Chile to Santa Cruz.
The two rivals last met back in February 2022 during the World Cup qualification campaign, with Chile claiming a 3-2 victory in Bolivia on that occasion. Consequently, La Roja have won three of their previous four meetings with La Verde.
When you look at the bigger picture, Bolivia have managed to win just seven of their 49 matches against Chile over the years. Plus, the Bolivians have registered a solitary victory in 17 meetings since 2001, suffering 12 defeats in the process.
To make matters worse for Bolivia, they head into the upcoming encounter in woeful form, having lost eight of their previous nine games across all competitions.
Following four successive World Cup qualifying defeats, Gustavo Costas’ men finished 2022 with friendly losses against Senegal and Peru. After losing to Uzbekistan and edging out Saudi Arabia in March, Bolivia suffered a 1-0 defeat to Ecuador on Saturday, with former West Ham United and Everton striker Enner Valencia grabbing the goal.
Only six players in Bolivia’s 28-man squad play their club football outside of their homeland, with 12 players representing Bolivar and seven representing The Strongest.
36-year-old captain Marcelo Martins, who has scored 31 goals in 101 appearances for his country, plays for Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle. Elsewhere, teenage midfielder Miguel Terceros belongs to Brazilin club Santos, while 22-year-old defender Jairo Quinteros represents Real Zaragoza in Spain.
On the flip side, Chile’s squad is made up of players who ply their trade across the world. Marseille’s Alexis Sanchez and Bologna’s Gary Medel both have more than 150 caps to their name, while Flamengo’s Arturo Vidal has made 139 international appearances.
Blackburn Rovers’ Ben Brereton Diaz, Norwich City’s Marcelino Nunez, Monaco’s Guillermo Maripan and CSKA Moscow’s Felipe Mendez also feature in Eduardo Berizzo’s experimental 31-man squad.
It is worth noting that La Roja have already played two friendlies this month. Last week, Chile defeated Cuba 3-0, with Marcelino Nunez bagging a brace. At the weekend, Ben Brereton Diaz netted a hat-trick inside 25 minutes before Bruno Barticciotto scored twice to hand Berizzo’s side a 5-0 victory over the Dominican Republic.
There is no hiding the fact that Chile endured a difficult 2022, posting a nine-game winless run between March and November. After suffering five defeats in six outings, La Roja managed to record friendly draws with Qatar and Slovakia.
Since then, however, the Chileans have notched three successive victories, scoring 11 goals while keeping two clean sheets. With Berizzo at the wheel, it feels as though Chile have rediscovered their spark.
Expert Insight: While Chile have notched three high-scoring victories in 2023, Bolivia have lost eight of their previous nine matches. When you couple the contrasting form of the two sides with Chile’s dominant record against Bolivia, all the signs point towards an away win this time around.