Chile vs Argentina Prediction, Preview, Predicted Lineups and Team News | FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Chile vs Argentina Preview

Tournament: 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Date: Friday, 5 June 2025

Kick-Off Time: 1 AM GMT

Venue: Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos, Nunoa

Argentina looks to return to international football with a bang when they face off against an inconsistent Chile side in their next 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Friday, 6 June 2025. The Chile vs Argentina clash will take place at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos at 1 AM GMT.

Chile have had a pretty poor outing in the CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifiers, as they are in the last position (10th) in the qualifying group with just two wins from 14 games. They've lost eight games in the World Cup qualifiers, with their two wins coming from their last five games. They are five points behind seventh-place Venezuela, the spot needed to reach for a World Cup qualifier playoff.

Ricardo Gareca has a major challenge ahead of him and needs some special motivation to charge his side up for the game against the defending World Champions. Chile will need to maintain an extremely mean defensive line to frustrate the Argentine side, and will need to be really clinical in the counter-attacks or taking up their opportunities to get a big win.

Argentina have been flying high on momentum, having won their last five matches in dominant fashion, which includes a 4-1 thrashing of Brazil in their last game. They have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and now it's just a case of keeping this impressive winning run intact.

Lionel Scaloni will look to work towards ensuring that his players don't take this game for granted or don't let complacency set in. He'll urge his players to be at their proactive best in controlling the game, keeping Chile's attackers quiet, and finishing off their chances emphatically to get a big win.

Chile Team News

Ricardo Gareca hasn't called up some experienced players like Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, and Eduardo Vargas for Chile's upcoming matches. He has, however, given maiden call-ups to the kujes if Rodrigo Urena, Matias Supelveda, Esteban Matus, and Lawrence Vigoroux.

Argentina Team News

Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina national team squad after a seven-month layoff. Lionel Scaloni will be without players like Alexis Mac Allister, Lisandro Martinez, and Paulo Dybala because of injury troubles. He's also called up exciting talents Franco Mastantuono and Enzo Barrenechea for this game.

Chile vs Argentina Predicted Lineups

Chile Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Brayan Cortes

Defenders: Felipe Loyola, Guillermo Maripan, Francisco Sierralta, Gabriel Suazo

Midfielders: Arturo Vidal, Rodrigo Echeverria, Vincente Pizzaro

Forwards: Dario Osorio, Alexis Sanchez, Victor Davila

Argentina Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez

Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Medina

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Nicolas Gonzalez, Julian Alvarez

Chile vs Argentina Head-to-Head Record

There have been 68 competitive matches between these two South American heavyweights. Out of that, Argentina have won 46 games and Chile have only come out on top on three occasions. In their last five meetings, Argentina have won three games and there have been two draws.

Key Players to Watch in Chile vs Argentina

Alexis Sanchez (Chile)

Alexis Sanchez is coming off a pretty woeful campaign in which he failed to get a goal contribution in the 2024/25 Serie A for Udinese. He has not scored any goals in the World Cup qualifiers for Chile, only averaging 1.8 shot attempts per game.

However, Sanchez remains Chile's most decorated footballer and still has some scary skills in his arsenal.

He will look to revitalize himself to torment the defenders with his movement and trickery. Sanchez will look to feed quality passes to his teammates in key areas and also get to the end of moves to torment the visitors and guide his side to a positive result.

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Lionel Messi has enjoyed a pretty prolific World Cup qualification campaign for Argentina, managing six goals in nine appearances so far. He's managed a 19% goal conversion rate and also managed to bag three assists, guiding Argentina to some positive results.

Messi will look to keep his groove going by driving his side forward with his exquisite trickery and class. He'll look to create big chances with his brilliant delivery and also sneak into key areas in the final third to finish off moves and help his side get a major win.

Chile vs Argentina Prediction

Going by the history of matches between these two sides, this upcoming clash should be a pretty feisty and aggressive encounter. There should be plenty of physicality and intensity involved in it, resulting in a pretty dramatic match.

Chile's form might've improved in recent games, but they're still too vulnerable defensively to hold their own against Argentina. Messi & co should be able to power their way to a compelling win to keep their winning run intact.

Predicted Score: Chile 0-2 Argentina

Where to Watch Chile vs Argentina