Chile vs Colombia prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-12 00:30.
Chile will be glad to be returning to home soil after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Uruguay in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying (WCQ) encounter. The loss – in what was their first competitive fixture for nearly 18 months – means that La Roja now face the prospect of losing their first two games in a WCQ campaign for the first time since 1954. That year, they failed to qualify for the tournament in Switzerland, but have since proved unbeatable in their opening WCQ match in front of their own fans (W10, D5).
As such, confidence should be high among Eduardo Berizzoâs men that they can make it four straight home victories, which would be Chileâs longest such winning streak since the eight-match run they put together between June 2016 and June 2017. In each of the three wins they amassed at the start of this year, they scored their opening goal inside the first 25 minutes, which should give upcoming opponents Colombia something to think about in the early stages.
The Coffee Growers have certainly built up a head of steam since March 2022, with last Thursdayâs 1-0 qualifying win over Venezuela stretching the countryâs unbeaten run to 12 games (W10, D2). NĂ©stor Lorenzoâs side now have the opportunity to become the first-ever Colombian outfit to win their opening two World Cup qualifiers, and coincidentally face Chile in their first away game of the cycle on matchday two, having done so four years earlier, with the game finishing 2-2 in Santiago on that occasion.
The fact Colombia have won their last three away matches âto nilâ (excluding neutral venue games) should boost belief they can become history makers. Chile will no doubt be well aware of their adversariesâ strength after the break as well, as under Lorenzo, 14 of Colombiaâs 17 goals have been scored in the second half of matches.
Players to watch: Diego ValdĂ©s has recorded assists for Chile against Paraguay and the Dominican Republic in 2023, as well as registering four goal involvements in his last eight games for club and country (G2, A2). Meanwhile, Rafael Borre has been instrumental to Colombiaâs success of late, scoring three times and assisting once in his last eight internationals.
Hot stat: Three of the last five H2Hs have been goalless after 90 minutes.