Chile

Santiago is where La Roja come home. The Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos has been the national team's main ground since it opened in 1938, and its 48,745 seats are where Chile's big nights in the capital have been played out.

The team itself is younger than the game in the country. The Chilean football federation was set up in 1895 in Valparaíso, which makes it the second-oldest in South America. The national side did not play an official match until 27 May 1910 in Buenos Aires. The game was part of Argentina's Copa Centenario celebrations for its independence, and the hosts won 3–1. Chile's first opponent has stayed the one that matters most. The two sides share a fierce history, and it sharpened when they met in back-to-back Copa América finals.

The other rivalry is older than any football. Peru are the opponents in the Clásico del Pacífico, a fixture that carries the tensions of the War of the Pacific. Neither side treats it as an ordinary qualifier.

The generation that made those finals is easy to name. Alexis Sánchez was voted best player of both tournaments, and Claudio Bravo was best goalkeeper in both. Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel and Mauricio Isla gave the side its edge in midfield and defence, and Eduardo Vargas finished as top scorer in 2016. The team wears a red shirt, blue shorts and white socks at home.

For a national team that started with a 3–1 defeat in 1910, the Copa América came twice in a row, in 2015 and 2016.