Star player:
Alexis Sanchez

Previous appearances:
1930 (first round), 1950 (first round), 1962 (third place), 1966 (first round), 1974 (first round), 1982 (first round), 1998 (first round).

How they qualified
CONCACAF
Argentina (a)      0-2
Peru (h)             2-0
Uraguay (a)        2-2
Paraguay (h)       0-3
Bolvia (a)            2-0
Venezuela (a)     3-2
Brazil (h)            0-3
Colombia (h)       4-0
Ecuador (a)        0-1
Argentina (h)     1-0
Peru (a )            3-1
Uraguay (h)        0-0
Paraguay (a)       2-0
Bolvia (h)           4-0
Venezuela (a)     2-2
Brazil (a)            2-4
Colombia (a)       4-2
Ecuador (h)       1-0

Chances:
A solid unit under the clever coaching of Argentinian Bielsa, but even with the talents of Sanchez and Matias Fernandez it will be difficult. However, they will be expected to out-perform Honduras and will give Switzerland a run for their money.

Strange but true
Coach Marcelo Bielsa loves the media- almost too much. He prefers to hold press conferences open to all and is known for answering every question from all reporters, refusing to play favourites and treating a young reporter the same as a big shot from a large newspaper. This means Bielsa’s press conferences have lasted up to four hours!