- Chile beat Venezuela 4-2 on Matchday 12 of the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
- La Roja achieved three important points to leave the bottom of the table.
The Chilean team beat Venezuela 4-2 this Tuesday in Santiago on Matchday 12 of the South American Qualifiers, and gained momentum in its fight to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Chile revived with goals this Tuesday after defeating Venezuela 4-2 at the National Stadium in Santiago, and thus left the last place in the standings of the South American Qualifiers.
La Vinotinto took the lead at 13', thanks to a whip from the edge of the area by Jefferson Savarino and another bomb by Rubén Ramírez at 22'.
Those led by Ricardo Gareca came back thanks to a right hand from the scorer Eduardo Vargas at 20', an own goal by Tomás Rincón at 29' and a double by Lucas Cepeda at 38' and 47', to seal the final victory.
La Roja left the bottom and reached ninth place with nine points. Venezuela remains with 12 points, but fell to eighth position, outside the qualifying and playoff zone.
– Party Numbers –
- Chile had not scored four or more goals in a South American Qualifying match since 2016, when it defeated the same rival as tonight, Venezuela, 4-1. Arturo Vidal, Paulo Díaz, Esteban Pavez and Mauricio Isla were part of the call for both matches.
- Eduardo Vargas reached 45 goals with the Chilean team, establishing himself as the second highest scorer in the history of La Roja and being six away from equaling Alexis Sánchez (51) at the top of the ranking.
- Counting since 2010, this was the third game with five goals scored in the first half in the South American Qualifiers. Two of these matches featured Chile, going into halftime with a partial 3-2 victory against both Peru in 2015 and Venezuela tonight.
- Eduardo Vargas and Lucas Cepeda scored and assisted in the victory against Venezuela. It is the first time that two players from Chile have achieved this record in the same match in the last four editions of the South American Qualifiers.
- Three of the last five doubles by a Chile player in the South American Qualifiers were against Venezuela: Esteban Paredes in 2017, Erick Pulgar in 2021 and Lucas Cepeda tonight.
- Lucas Cepeda is the youngest Chilean player to score two or more goals in a South American Qualifying match, counting the last four editions of the tournament, doing so today against Peru at the age of 22 years and 20 days.
- Yeferson Soteldo is the leader in assists in Venezuela in the last four editions of the South American Qualifiers, with seven. Three of those assists on goal were against Chile: November 2020, October 2023 and today.
CONMEBOL.com / OPTA / EFE / AFP
