Chile and Uruguay will face off in the first quarter-final encounter of Copa AmĆ©rica 2015 on WednesdayĀ June 24.
La Roja stormed through the first phase, finishing top of Group A and scoring 10 goals – more than twice the tally of any other side in the comeptition.
Home support has been key for them so far, and they will again play in front of a raucous crowd at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago on Wednesday night.
However, if they are to win the trophy for the first time in their history then they will have to overcome the defending champions.
Uruguay are without two influential figures that helped propel them to glory in Argentina four years ago, with Luis SuƔrez suspended and Diego ForlƔn retired.
They showed plenty of spirit to battle their way through Group B and know they are just three games away from their 16th Copa AmƩrica crown.
There’s plenty on the line for both nations and we’ve picked out three of their classic encounters to whet your appetite.
Uruguay 2-1 Chile | 1920 South American Championship | ViƱa del Mar
The first time Chile played host to the oldest international contintental competition on the planet was 95 years ago, but, in order to match Argentina on four points and for a potential play-off for the trophy, they needed to get past La Celeste.
Having already lifted the trophy two times since its inception in 1916, Uruguay, too, were chasing continental glory once more. They knew that victory against Chile in the competition’s final game would secure them a third title.
Ćngel Romano put them on the right path with his 37th-minute opener but La Roja restored parity on the hour mark thanks to a strike from Aurelio DomĆnguez.
They weren’t level for long, though, as five minutes later JosĆ© PĆ©rez popped up with his third of the tournament – sending him top of the scoring charts for the second time in three editions – to ensure the trophy went back to Uruguay once more, while Chile finished in fourth place.
Chile 2-0 Uruguay | Copa AmƩrica 1983 | Santiago
It has been over 30 years since La Roja defeated Uruguay in the Copa AmƩrica, and they will meet them at the scene of that triumph on Wednesday.
The 1983 edition of the continental tournament was played with no fixed host. Instead, the teams played each other home and away in the group stage with the whole competition taking almost three months to complete.
After a 2-1 defeat in Montevideo, La Roja knew that they had to beat La Celeste if they were to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals in the return fixture at the Estadio Nacional.
Coming in off the back of the 5-0 thumping of Venezuela confidence was high, and it took the hosts just nine minutes to take the lead – Rodolfo DubĆ³ opening the scoring. An evenly contested match was finally put to bed by Chile 10 minutes from time thanks to a Juan Carlos Letelier strike.
However, La Roja failed to follow that up with victory in their final meeting of the stage away at La Vinotinto. Uruguay subsequently progressed and went on to win the trophy, and Chile have been searching for another win ever since.
Uruguay 1-0 Chile | Copa AmƩrica 1987 | Buenos Aires
Similarly to 1920, the title was again up for grabs when the two sides met in this final in Argentina 67 years later.
Chile were still yet to win the crown, with their best efforts seeing them finish second in 1955, 1956 and 1979. Uruguay, meanwhile, were looking to defend their title and win the competition for a record 13th time.
La Roja quickly put themselves at a disadvantage when Eduardo GĆ³mez was shown a red card after just 14 minutes for cutting down iconic Celeste striker Enzo Francescoli, but before the half-hour mark both sides were down to 10 men, with Uruguay’s No.10 also dismissed.
The decisive strike came 11 minutes after the interval, with Pablo Bengoechega pouncing on the rebound after Roberto Rojas failed to hold JosĆ© Perdomo’s shot from 20 yards.
The fiery game saw two more red cards before its conclusion, but once again it was Uruguay that came out on top.
Bron: ca2015.com
