Team profile: Chile

With Juventus star Arturo Vidal questionable for first-round games due to injury, all eyes will be on Alexis Sánchez. "El Niño Maravilla" played a key role in FC Barcelona's run at La Liga’s title this spring, coming in second in goals scored behind Lionel Messi. But a Barcelona tactical scheme centered around the great Argentine often constrains Sánchez's playmaking skills. Look for him to play more freewheeling football for the national team, dropping behind the strikers and setting up opportunities for Valencia forward Eduardo Vargas. That strategy helped Chile beat England in a friendly at Wembley this spring and deliver an impressive performance against Germany in Stuttgart.

Chile finished in third place in the 1962 World Cup, when it hosted the 16-team tournament. After first-round victories against Switzerland and Italy, Chile beat the Soviet Union — reigning European champion at the time — in the quarterfinals, but its run for the title ended in a 4–2 semifinal loss to the eventual champion, Brazil.

This Chile side is the most impressive in generations, led by a core of five players who emerged on the international stage when the country placed third at the 2007 Under 20 World Cup in Canada. Besides tactical skill, the group has developed a mental strength that sets it apart from previous national teams. (To a great extent, credit for that goes to previous national coach Marcelo Bielsa.) They know they can compete with the greats and will not cower to the likes of Brazil or Spain. And several players have publicly voiced an opinion that normally would be met with ridicule in Chile: that they can return home with the cup.

Global soccer intelligentsia say Chile, with a little luck, has a chance at unprecedented glory in Brazil, despite being grouped against Holland and Spain in one of this year's groups of death. Strong showings against soccer's elite in the past two years have bolstered that belief. But Chile's defensive weakness — it has the tournament's shortest defensive side — could cost it in high-pressure games where one mistake means defeat. A weak defensive performance against Egypt in a recent friendly made that glaringly clear. Lacking a tall central defender, Chile will have to improvise, something it has done so far with varying degrees of success.

Have you heard of Miiko Albornoz? Neither had most Chileans until two months ago. That's because he was born in Sweden to a Chilean father and Finnish mother, and plays club ball for Malmö FF, Zlatan Ibrahimović's home team. The defensive midfielder has played in only two friendlies with Chile, but he offers coach Jorge Sampaoli an attractive defensive option. After a couple of successful performances, he could see significant playing time in Brazil.