Chile and Uruguay will do battle in Santiago on Tuesday in the final game of each of their World Cup 2022 Qualifying campaigns.

The visitors have already sealed automatic progression to this year's tournament, while their hosts have an outside chance of sneaking into the playoff place, depending on other results.

Match preview

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After a tough start to their World Cup Qualifying campaign, Chile put themselves in the race for the top five with a run of three straight victories late last year, defeating Paraguay twice alongside a victory over Venezuela.

That moved them onto 16 points from 13 outings, but they were unable to add to their winning run, suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Ecuador and Argentina.

While Martin Lasarte's side did then bounce back with a 3-2 win over Bolivia thanks to an Alexis Sanchez brace and a Marcelino Nunez goal, they were again unable to add another win when they returned to action last time out.

La Roja travelled to take on group leaders Brazil, and they were the victims of a 4-0 thrashing as Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Philippe Coutinho and Richarlison all helped themselves to goals.

As a result, Lasarte's men sit two points behind the playoff place and a point worse off than Colombia, meaning that, while they do stand a chance of reaching the playoffs, they would require both sides above them to lose while picking up a victory of their own.

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In their bid to keep the slim hopes alive with a win, La Roja take on a Uruguay side who have already booked their place in the World Cup.

Despite being widely fancied as the third-best side in the South American qualifying group behind Brazil and Argentina, La Celeste failed to stamp their authority for the majority of the campaign, and they sat at risk of missing out on the global competition at several stages.

With just 16 points from 14 matches, Uruguay sat in an unenviable position, but, following the departure of long-term boss Oscar Tabarez and subsequent appointment of Diego Alonso, they have been able to turn their form around, putting together back-to-back wins over Paraguay and Venezuela early in the new year to storm into the top four.

Only boasting a slender lead over fifth-placed Peru with two games to go, last week's meeting with Los Incas was pivotal, and Alonso's men were able to confirm a top-four finish and automatic progression with a 1-0 win thanks to Giorgian De Arrascaeta's goal.

Having now seemingly kicked into gear with three straight victories, Uruguay will look to continue building momentum ahead of the World Cup with a win that could see them leapfrog Ecuador and finish third in South American qualifying after their underwhelming start.

Team News

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Chile may again be unable to call upon important forward Ben Brereton Diaz, who has hit four goals in 11 caps since declaring for the nation, as, despite being called up to the squad, the Blackburn Rovers man has faced a long absence through injury.

With the need for three points, La Roja should stick with their established core, with Gary Medel and Inter Milan duo Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez likely forming the spine.

The latter should spearhead the attack alongside veteran Eduardo Vargas, with the duo boasting a combined tally of 88 goals on the international stage.

Uruguay's line could again be led by legendary forward Luis Suarez, who tops his nation's all-time scoring charts with 67 goals in 131 international caps.

With qualification already secured, Alonso may opt to give chances to younger players, with Benfica prospect Darwin Nunez set to continue alongside the Atletico Madrid veteran over Edinson Cavani.

Elsewhere, Barcelona's Ronald Araujo and Real Madrid's Federico Valverde are growing in influence in defence and midfield respectively in the ageing squad, with the latter again set to play in the engine room next to Rodrigo Bentancur.

Chile possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Diaz, Medel, Roco; Isla, Vidal, Aranguiz, Baeza, Suazo; Sanchez, Vargas

Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Rochet; D Suarez, Gimenez, Araujo, Olivera; Pellistri, Bentancur, Valverde, De Arrascaeta; Nunez, L Suarez

We say: Chile 0-2 Uruguay

While Chile certainly need three points to even stand a chance of climbing to fifth, we see it as a step too far and expect them to be outclassed by Uruguay.

The two sides both rely on ageing cores, but the visitors have more young talent coming through their ranks and will be full of confidence on the back of three straight wins under their new manager.

Written by
Sam Varley

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