Having advanced through to the quarter-finals as winners of Group A, hosts Chile are now just two encounters away from reaching their fifth Copa America final.
Standing in their way in Santiago during the early hours of Thursday morning will be holders Uruguay, who despite struggling in their group, progressed as one of two best third-placed nations.
Chile
There hasn't been a dull moment, both on and off the pitch, since Chile got this year's Copa America
underway eleven days ago.
On the negative front, star midfielder Arturo Vidal was perhaps lucky to have escaped more severe punishment than only losing his driving licence after crashing his carwhile the influence of alcohol. In Chile, such an offence can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
But, in contrast on the pitch, the Juventus midfielder is the competition's leading goalscorer to date, with three goals to his name.
His contribution helped the Chileans to pick up seven points from a possible nine and score 10 goals from their three group matches, which is six more times than any other country managed to find the net during the same period.
It's that attacking outlook that has seen many people tip Chile to win a first ever Copa America title this summer, having lost on each of their four previous appearances in the final.
The big question now is, with the bigger teams awaiting them - starting with Uruguay, will head coach Jorge Sampaoli encourage his team to play in a more conservative manner? Speaking to reporters, he responded: "Chile will not change its style for the quarter-finals. Playing like this is the only way to beat the big teams we will meet from here on."
One a more cautious note, though, it must be said that Chile have been defeated in their last three quarter-final outings, having lost out to Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela respectively.
Uruguay
While Chile may have won themselves many admirers with their swashbuckling performances, the same cannot be said of Oscar Tabarez's Uruguayan charges.
As champions from four years ago, there was much anticipation surrounding La Celeste, who are gunning to become the fourth nation to retain the Copa America trophy since 1991.
From their three group encounters, they collected one of each possible result, which was only enough to see them qualify for the last eight along with Colombia as the best third-placed finishers.
Although, on reflection, that may not be a bad thing because despite the fact that they face the hosts, Group B winners Argentina take on the unpredictable Colombians, while runners-up Paraguay are up against five-time world champions Brazil.
As predicted, Luis Suarez's suspension has had an adverse impact on Uruguay. In the Barcelona striker's absence, the goalscoring burden was passed to Edinson Cavani, but the Paris Saint-Germain frontman is still awaiting his first goal of the competition. In defence of the 28-year-old, he has not received great service from the team's more creative players.
But, while their displays so far may not have set the world alight, they can at least take confidence from their recent Copa America quarter-final record. They have reached this stage in six of the last seven editions and won on each occasion.
Head To Head
The first 11 meetings between these nations all ended in Uruguayan victories, eight of which came in the Copa America.
Overall, Uruguay have won 43 times to Chile's 17 triumphs, although in recent years the tide has started to turn.
Of the last eight encounters, Uruguay have celebrated just two wins - the same amount as Chile during that time.
In the Copa America, they last faced off in 2011 in the group stages when Chile talisman Alexis Sanchezcancelled out Alvaro Pereira's opener to secure a 1-1 draw.



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