Uruguay v Chile

Uruguay vs Chile Preview

The South American section of the World Cup qualifiers for 2026 start this week and Friday night features this upcoming clash between Uruguay and Chile at the Estadio Centenario with both nations keen to produce a positive start to their respective campaigns.

Uruguay bring a promising looking set of results into this opening World Cup qualifier group game against Chile as the hosts are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions which consists of four wins and a draw, while the bigger picture shows Uruguay have suffered just the two defeats in their previous 16 games overall.

Recent wins against Ghana (in last year's World Cup in Qatar) along with subsequent victories in international friendlies against South Korea, Nicaragua and Cuba should give the new Uruguayan national coach, Marcelo Bielsa, a solid platform from which to launch a successful World Cup qualifying campaign.

Uruguay finished in third spot in the World Cup qualifying table four years ago but qualification for Canada and Mexico 2026 should be a little easier this time around as there are now an increased number of six automatic qualifying spots along with seventh place playing in an inter-continental play-off.

In addition, Uruguay have lost just two of their last 14 internationals on home soil.

Chile produced a somewhat disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign under former coach, Martin Lasarte, as they achieved a miserable seventh place finish in the CONMEBOL table and five points adrift of even the intercontinental play-off place.

The new Chile national coach, Eduardo Berizzo, now has to prepare a squad that can remain competitive without the potential absence of star players, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal as they both near retirement from the international stage.

Nevertheless, following a harrowing eight-game stretch without a win in all competitions including failing to qualify for last year's World Cup in Qatar and being handed no fewer than seven defeats in the process, Chile appear to have come out of the other side of these dark times as they bring a five-match unbeaten run themselves into this World Cup qualifier opening game.

Three wins in international friendlies against Paraguay, Cuba and Dominican Republic will have served as a welcome and much-needed morale boost amongst the Chilean camp but it's worth noting that each of these three wins were recorded on home soil.

Switch to results away from home and you'll notice that Chile are without a win in their last seven outings on their travels and indeed, have managed to pick up only three wins from their previous 23 away games overall.

Uruguay v Chile Verdict

Uruguay have held the upper hand over Chile in recent exchanges as the hosts have won three of the last four meetings and this trend looks set to continue in Montevideo on Friday night.

Therefore, our main bet will be Uruguay win @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Uruguay win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.25

Correct score: Uruguay 1-0 @ 5.50