2023 will be marked by the return of the qualifiers for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada 2026 where Chile will seek qualification after two processes with failures. Thus, the Monumental Stadium appears as the venue that will receive those directed by Eduardo Berizzo.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is over and soccer at the national team level has little time to rest. With a planetary appointment made in an atypical month, Conmebol had March as the date to start the qualifying process. However, given the proximity of the months, they will appeal to postpone the competition. Thus, the agreement between the different Federations exists, so now all that remains is to wait for the approval of FIFA and, thus, that the road to the 2026 World Cup begins in June 2023.
Whatever the final scenario that is decided, the Chilean National Team will leave the National Stadium to receive the different teams from our continent. The holding of the Pan American Games in 2023 will not allow soccer to be held for a long time in the colossus of Ñuñoa, for which reason the ANFP sought a new home.
The Monumental Stadium receives the Chilean National Team
The locality has been a real problem for the Red. During the previous qualifying process, the national team toured San Carlos de Apoquindo, the Monumental and even Calama in search of a comfortable setting for soccer. For this reason, in the ANFP they do not want any more problems and, as RedGol points out, they have already reserved the Colo Colo house for the games to take place during 2023.
Thus, depending on the fixture and the start date of the matchess, the Monumental Stadium could receive four matches corresponding to the first half of the road to North America 2026. Who will be the rivals? It is something that still cannot be assured, since the governing body of continental football has not yet announced the crosses that will take place.
The Chilean National Team did not have a good time at the Monumental Stadium
During the qualifiers for Qatar 2022, Chile occupied the Macul venue to receive Brazil. Said commitment ended with a 1-0 favorable to the team led by Tite and it was the only match that was played there, since the conditions were not entirely pleasant for the national players.
It was Claudio Bravo himself who told the details of why they emigrated to San Carlos de Apoquindo. On that occasion, the Betis goalkeeper assured that “One day we got to the dressing room and out of six showers, only one worked. There was a dressing room that was dark, had no light, or the field at game time was not in good condition. It was said that we preferred San Carlos because we wanted more parking spaces for our families, but it was a lie. If you want to qualify for a World Cup, these things cannot happen”.
