Uruguay vs Chile prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-09-08 23:00.
The long journey of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (WCQ) begins for CONMEBOL members this week, including two-time winners Uruguay and nine-time finals participants Chile. The expansion of the tournament to 48 nations in 2026 will see the six best of the ten South American nations awarded direct entry to the showpiece event, an increase from four in 2022.
That should make life even easier for Uruguay, who qualified for all but one 32-team WC this century (2006), as they begin a new era under seasoned campaigner Marcelo Bielsa. Bielsa has already experienced the highs and lows of national team management with Argentina (from a below-par 2002 WC performance to Olympic gold in 2004) and Chile. Bielsa is looking to the future with his current squad selection, as 30-year-old goalkeeper Sergio Rochet is the oldest member of his first squad that excludes veterans Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani.
Ironically, it was Bielsa who led Chile to their first ever WC qualification point away to Uruguay in Montevideo, and since then the history between the two sides has tightened. Chile could be one nation to benefit enormously from the change to 48 teams, having missed the WC finals four times this century but finishing in a position
(sixth or seventh) to earn at worst a playoff berth under the new allocation of qualification slots on three occasions.
They’re more than one year into the tenure of Eduardo Berizzo, and after his predecessor MartĂn Lasarte was sacked for missing the 2022 WC, there’s no doubting what his major target will be. Chile could not win away to any of the six sides to finish above them in the previous WCQ cycle (D2, L4), and after failing to score in each of their four friendlies in opposition territory since then (D2, L2), it doesn’t appear travelling will be any easier this time around.
Players to watch: Darwin Núñez is expected to spearhead the Uruguayan attack and should be both fresh and efficient, recording three goal contributions (G2, A1) from less than 80 minutes of game time in his last two Liverpool appearances. Another player to become synonymous with his national side in a relatively short space of time is Chile’s Ben Brereton DĂaz, although he’s not certain to score here considering his seven international goals have either come on home (six) or neutral (one) soil.
Hot streak: Uruguay led at half-time in each of their last seven wins.