Preview: Bolivia vs. Chile - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts have struggled in a run of friendlies since failing to qualify for the World Cup in December, whilst Chile will be hoping to make it four wins on the bounce.

Match preview

Bolivia kicked off their pair of June international fixtures with a narrow loss away at Ecuador on the weekend, with a 69-minute goals from talisman Enner Valencia deciding the contest.

Having lost four of their five friendly clashes since rounding up their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-0 defeat to Brazil, it is fair to say that Bolivia will not be favourites to book their place at football's biggest tournament in 2026.

An impressive success over Saudi Arabia on their travels back in March represents La Verde's sole victory since January 2022 - Marcelo Moreno and Carmelo Algaranaz were on target for the visitors on that day in Jeddah.

Gustavo Costas's men will be thrown straight into the deep end during September's international period, starting their World Cup qualification journey with duels against Brazil and Argentina within the space of four days.

A good omen for Bolivia is that last time the World Cup was held in the United States they managed to qualify, however a return of one point from three group games saw them fall at the first hurdle in 1994.

Chile head into Wednesday's clash looking for a third straight win of this international period following on their friendly successes over Cuba and the Dominican Republic over the past week.

Last time out saw Ben Brereton Diaz bag his first=ever hat-trick for the national team, with a Bruno Barticciotto brace making the scoreline 5-0 at the full-time whistle.

After featuring at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, La Roja have failed to qualify for the tournament during its last two editions - the fact that the top six from CONMEBOL now progress into the competition will make their mission a lot easier this time around.

Chile's last win in a competitive match came against Wednesday's hosts Bolivia in February 2022, with a brace from Alexis Sanchez and a Marcelino Nunez strike securing a maximum in La Paz.

Bolivia friendly form:

L

W

L

Bolivia form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

L

Chile friendly form:

W

W

W

Chile form (all competitions):

D

L

D

W

W

W

Team News

At 36 years old, Bolivia's all-time top scorer Moreno is just a single appearance away from matching the 102 earned by legendary goalkeeper Ronald Raldes - the striker should be handed the opportunity to do so on Wednesday.

La Verde are likely to make some changes from the team who narrowly lost to Ecuador last time out, with youngsters Jeyson Chura and Gabriel Villamil pushing for starts.

Chile will be unable to call on the services of midfielder Diego Rubio in this match - the 30-year-old picked up an ankle whilst playing for Colorado Rapids in MLS last month.

Victor Mendez and Williams Alarcon are in contention for starts after impressing off the bench against the Dominican Republic, with the latter enduring a tough season with UD Ibiza in La Liga 2 this term.

Bolivia possible starting lineup:

Lampe; Sagredo, Quinteros, Sagredo; Ibanez, Bejarano, Quiroga, Roca; Terceros, Algaranaz, Moreno

Chile possible starting lineup:

Arias; Delgado, Catalan, Medel, Suazo; Pulgar, Valdes, Nunez, Vidal; Barticciotto, Brereton Diaz

We say: Bolivia 0-2 Chile

Bolivia are struggling to build momentum ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifying campaign which commences in September, and it will be a tricky assignment on Wednesday against a Chile side who have netted 11 in their last three matches.

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