Chile's U17 national team, coached by Ariel Leporati, thrashed Bolivia at the South American Championship in Paraguay to qualify for the November Qatar World Cup. The squad features seven players from Universidad Católica and one from Colo Colo, drawing from a diverse pool of clubs. This marks the second straight qualification for the team.
Chile's U17 team achieved its goal on Thursday by thrashing Bolivia at the U17 South American Championship in Paraguay, securing their seventh World Cup appearance in the category and second in a row after 2025.
The 23-player squad is led by seven from Universidad Católica, followed by three each from Universidad de Chile and O’Higgins. It draws from Coquimbo Unido, Audax Italiano, Everton, Huachipato, Universidad de Concepción, two from Curicó Unido, Deportes Iquique, and Independiente of Argentina. Amaro Contreras from Colo Colo replaced injured Bautista Andrade from Huracán.
Three players bring World Cup experience: goalkeeper Vicente Villegas from Coquimbo Unido, Cristóbal del Río, and Amaro Pérez. Several have first-division minutes, including Esteban Páez, Joaquín Muñoz from O’Higgins, Sebastián Melgarejo from Huachipato, and Byron Barrera from Deportes Iquique, who scored in the Copa Chile.
Ariel Leporati, 36, under technical director Nicolás Córdova, praised the long-term development project. “There is a formative project in Chilean football that has been going on for some years and is taking shape; it's not about getting results overnight,” Leporati said. Córdova highlighted the process started last year with regional microcycles and 16 prior international matches.
In five tournament matches, the team scored seven goals and conceded five. They face Uruguay on Saturday for fifth place.
