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

La Roja finished fourth at the Kirin Cup last summer, while the Paraguayans are carrying a three-match unbeaten run heading into this encounter, defeating the United Arab Emirates 1-0 in a friendly played in Austria last June.

Match preview

Over a year on from his spell as manager of Paraguay, Eduardo Berizzo continues to search for his first victory with the Chilean national team.

His transition to La Roja has been difficult, with his side failing to score in their last five matches in all competitions, the last two being under his guidance.

Chile failed to reach the World Cup last November for a second successive qualification campaign, losing their last five matches on the road to Qatar.

Berizzo will be tasked with revitalizing an ageing squad who were Copa America champions in 2015 and 2016 but have fallen on hard times of late, currently the fifth-highest team in the region (31st) according to the FIFA rankings.

They have not played a team from South America in almost a year and have not beaten a CONMEBOL nation since edging Bolivia 3-2 in February 2022.

The Chileans have not won on home soil since October 2021, when they blanked Paraguay 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

After nearly a decade of club coaching, the move to the international stage has proven to be a steep learning curve for Guillermo Barros Schelotto at Paraguay.

The 49-year-old, who coached Lanus to the Copa Libertadores title in 2014, has not been able to emulate his success in club competitions at Paraguay just yet, with his side losing four of their final six qualifiers for Qatar after he took over the national team from Berizzo.

Operating primarily out of a 4-2-3-1 formation La Albirroja have found it hard to provide much support for their lone striker up top, failing to score in their last three international fixtures.

Attacking quality has been in short supply for Paraguay over the past couple of years, with this team scoring a mere 12 goals in their 18 World Cup qualifiers, the fewest among CONMEBOL countries.

They have not won on the road since last August when they defeated Mexico 1-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, while they have not beaten a South American team on their home field since edging Venezuela 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 2020.

Although Paraguay have dropped their last two fixtures versus Chile by a combined score of 3-0, La Guaranies had won three consecutive games against them before that, two of which happened when the Chileans were Copa America champions.

Chile friendly form:

Chile form (all competitions):

L

L

L

D

L

D

Paraguay friendly form:

Paraguay form (all competitions):

D

W

W

D

L

L

Team News

Alexis Sanchez, the all-time leading goalscorer for La Rojas (50 goals), is tied with Gary Medel for the most all-time appearances (152), with captain Claudio Bravo third on the team in that category with 144 caps.

Bruno Barticciotto, Alexander Aravena and Matias Catalan are the only three players chosen for this match who are still seeking their first cap with the national team, while Brayan Cortes needs one more appearance to reach double digits after starting in goal for their previous encounter, which they drew 0-0 with Slovakia.

Arturo Vidal, who is fourth in all-time appearances (137), can also move into a tie for fourth in goals for them, currently sitting on 33, one fewer than former Real Madrid striker Ivan Zamorano, Diego Rubio is searching for his first strike on the international stage, while Ben Brereton Diaz, the leading goalscorer for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship (12) has not found the mark for Chile since January 2022.

Fabian Balbuena from Corinthians missed Paraguay's 2-0 defeat against Colombia due to a red card suspension.

Gustavo Gomez, who plays for Palmeiras is their most capped player chosen for this friendly, with 64 appearances, while Matias Galarza who also features in Brazil at Vasco da Gama has only played in three games for the senior side.

Schelotto chose two uncapped players for the Paraguayans for this friendly, Ramon Sosa from Talleres in Argentina and backup keeper Aldo Perez who plays domestically at Guairena, while Robert Morales has one international cap to his name.

Kaku is their highest scorer chosen for this game with five international goals, Andres Cubas currently ranks second regarding tackles won in Major League Soccer for the Vancouver Whitecaps (12), while Anthony Silva put up two clean sheets in international friendlies last year.

Chile possible starting lineup:

Bravo; Medel, Maripan, Kuscevic; Valdes, Vidal, Nunez, Pavez; Meneses; Sanchez, Diaz

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Silva; Piris, Balbuena, Gomez, Riveros; Cubas; Sanchez, Ojeda, Melgarejo; Enciso, Avalos

We say: Chile 1-0 Paraguay

La Rojas may not be the dominant South American team we saw a few years ago, but there are still some quality individuals who have proven to be difference-makers, and we believe the likes of Sanchez and Vidal will be able to outclass La Albirroja who are far less experienced.

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