Bolivia’s national football team on Tuesday claimed its first away win against Chile in World Cup qualifying, winning 2-1 in Santiago on the eighth matchday on the road to the 2026 World Cup.
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La Verde ended a 31-year drought without visiting victories thanks to two quick counterattacks that were finished off by forwards Carmelo Algarañaz and Miguel Terceros in the 13th minute and 45+1, thanks to two passes from winger Roberto Fernández.
Bolivia’s Miguel Terceros controls the ball on Tuesday during a South American qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup between Chile and Bolivia at the Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium in Santiago (Chile). EFE/ Elvis González
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The forward Eduardo Vargas The score was equalised in the 39th minute, in a controversial play where he stole the ball from goalkeeper Carlos Lampe, who had fallen to the ground due to an injury. Bolivia reached the play-off zone in seventh place with nine points.
Chile is increasingly far from the next World Cup in North America with five points and in ninth place out of 10.
The Altiplano team gave the ball to Chile from the first minute to take refuge in their own field. And in the first opportunity of counterattack they scored.
Wingback Roberto Fernández ran down his left flank after Chile lost the ball and put in a well-balanced pass almost on the penalty spot that Algarañaz beat without any Chilean defender bothering him.
Ricardo Gareca, coach of Chile.
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Chile did not cause too much fear after the opening goal, but an injury to goalkeeper Carlos Lampe allowed veteran Eduardo Vargas to equalize the game. The goalkeeper received a pass and fell to the ground with a leg injury. Vargas, who was a meter away from the Bolivian, took the ball and ran towards the empty goal to provisionally equalize.
Lampe left the field on a stretcher, while his teammates confronted the Chileans for having continued the play despite their teammate’s injury. But Bolivia’s frustration turned into euphoria in just a few minutes. In a play almost identical to Bolivia’s first goal, Fernández again overflowed down his wing so that this time Miguel Terceros could put Bolivia ahead again just before half-time.
Chile came out strong in the second half, but as the minutes passed they began to despair. Bolivia, which took advantage of every foul to kill time, dedicated itself to protecting the result. As the match drew to a close, Paraguayan referee Juan Benítez awarded a penalty for an alleged handball by defender Diego Medina, but the VAR ruled it out, much to the frustration of the crowd at the National Stadium in Santiago.
In stoppage time, goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra, who had come on to replace Lampe, stayed on and repelled all the balls thrown into his area. Bolivia thus closes a dream double date, in which it kept the six available points and is looking forward to the World Cup. In October, the Verde will host Colombia in El Alto (4,150 m above sea level) and then visit Argentina. Chile, meanwhile, will have the difficult challenge of hosting Brazil in Santiago and then traveling to Colombia.
AFP
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