Chile: World Cup 2010 team guide

The team History lesson Won two games at the first World Cup in 1930 and registered a best-ever third place on home soil in 1962. This, though, is their first finals appearance since 1998 when a bright start to their second-round match against Brazil swiftly turned into a 4-1 defeat. Only qualified for the 1974 World Cup after the Soviet Union refused to play off in the national stadium in Santiago which had been used by General Pinochet to torture and murder opponents following the 1973 coup. Tactics board Under coach Marcelo Bielsa Chile favour a 3-3-1-3 formation borrowed from the Dutch maestro Louis van Gaal. Possession as high up the pitch as possible is the watchword. Argentina-born Matías Fernández pulls the strings from behind the front three and regularly gets on the scoresheet, hence his nickname, Matigol . Grudge match Chile's first international in 1910 was against Argentina but it took them until October 2008 and the recent qualifying series to win their first competitive match against them – shutting out the likes of Messi and Agüero. A repeat performance against their rivals from across the Andes in South Africa would be sweet – especially for their Argentinian coach. Also known as La Roja , for the banal reason that they play in red. The name sticks even if the away kit gets an outing. The players Vuvuzela superstar Bullet-headed Humberto Suazo was South America's top scorer in qualification with 10. Currently on loan at Real Zaragoza after helping Monterrey win the title in Mexico. There's always Bolton Former Anfield touchline-hugging misfit Mark González would welcome release from his gilded cage at CSKA Moscow. The winger's well-placed to shine in South Africa – he was born there, after all. Laager lout No-nonsense defender Pablo Contreras was banned for 20 games for an alcohol-fuelled incident at the team hotel in 2007. He was allowed back after 10 having signed a letter of apology. He holds a Spanish passport, replacing the fake Italian passport he received a two-year ban for in 2000 while with Monaco. The coach Body double Known as El Loco – the Nutter – Marcelo Bielsa is an obsessive with a collection of football videos that borders on the pervy. In short, Prof Yaffle. Big game hunter After success with Newell's Old Boys, Bielsa took his native Argentina unbeaten to the 2002 finals but they crashed and burned in Japan and Korea. An attack-minded coach who likes to give his players responsibility, he has found a squad receptive to his ideas. Loved or loathed National hero. MPs have called for him to be granted honorary Chilean citizenship for restoring pride to the national team. The country Commentators' kit From the Atacama desert in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, Chile is 2,880 miles long but a monument marking the country's mid-point is sited a few miles from Cape Horn. That's because Chile craftily claims a large slice of Antarctica. They gave the world Those Easter Island statues. OK, the giant moai were carved centuries before Chile existed but these days they stare out from beneath the Chilean flag. National monument Chile has a national cocktail, the pisco sour, made of (grape-based liquor) pisco, egg white, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters. Unfortunately Peruvians insist the drink is theirs and point to the fact that it is named after one of their major cities, Pisco. Decades of conflict have ensued. Qualifying Finished second in the South American group, just one point behind Brazil, beating Argentina 1-0 and winning in Paraguay for the first time in 30 years. Rounded off with a splendid 4-2 win in Colombia. The Triesman tapes ... what he didn't say "Bird crap hoarders, no-good pan-pipe parpers and new age babble facilitators. The country's so skinny it could hula-hoop a Cheerio." Statistics World Cup record: 7 finals P 25 W 7 D 6 L 12 F 27 A 40 Highest finish: Third place in 1962 2: The friendlies against Costa Rica and North Korea cancelled in February in the wake of the earthquake that struck Concepción Fixtures Honduras, 16 June, Mbombela Stadium, 12.30pm Switzerland, 21 June, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3pm Spain, 25 June, Loftus Versfeld, 7.30pm The verdict The revival has been vigorous and even in defeat the forward Humberto Suazo scored twice during the qualifier in Brazil. The young line-up do not act like a country that has been missing from the finals for 12 years. The manager, Marcelo Bielsa, is still to release himself from the shame of early elimination in 2002 while in charge of Argentina. Kevin McCarra