Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal jumps on teammates after Alexis Sánchez's goal. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reigning Copa America champions Chile (2-0-0, 6 points) will try to maintain a perfect record as it goes up against hard-fighting Colombia (1-1-0, 3 points) at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago on Thursday in a Matchday 3 affair of the CONMEBOL 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament.
La Roja defeated Brazil, 2-0, in its opener before escaping with a 4-3 win against Peru at the Estadio Nacional in Lima in their October 13 game, as per Daily Mail Online.
Arsenal winger Alexis Sánchez and 1899 Hoffenheim forward Eduardo Vargas each scored a double en route to the high-scoring victory over resilient La Blanquirroja.
Sánchez opened the scoring at the 7th minute and immediately Jefferson Farfán answered three minutes later to equalize the count at 1-all. Another goal by Farfán made it 2-1 for Peru, but Vargas and Sánchez scored two before halftime to grab back the lead, 3-2.
One goal each from both sides in the second half finalized the count of the highly entertaining matchup.
Meanwhile, Los Cafeteros won its own opener against Peru, 2-0, but succumbed to powerhouse Uruguay in their second game of the competitions, 0-3, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo last October 13, via Yahoo Sports.
José Pékerman's men were held scoreless by Óscar Tabárez's side as Diego Godín, Diego Rolán, and Abel Hernández each provided a goal for Los Charrúas to blow away Colombia.
Jorge Sampaoli's squad will take advantage of Los Cafeteros' heartbreaking loss to prolong their winning streak to three games.
The predicted result is a 3-1 victory for Chile.
Chile starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Bravo; Mena, Isla, Medel, Jara; Vidal, Valdivia, Diaz, Fernández; Sánchez, Vargas
Colombia starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Ospina; Zapata, Arias, Fabra, Murillo; Sánchez, Cardona, Guarín, Torres; Bacca, Gutiérrez
