It will be seven months to the day since Chile had their hearts broken against Brazil when Jorge Sampaoli's team take the field against the US on Jan. 28 at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua (FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN).
The squad that will take the field will be vastly different from the one that left the field in Belo Horizonte. Stars like Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Gary Medel and Claudio Bravo were not included in Sampaoli's 20-man roster announced on Tuesday.
Instead the Argentine manager opted exclusively for players who ply their trade in the domestic league, yielding a group with very little international experience. Only five of the 20 players have registered more than five caps, and only one (Johnny Herrera) was part of the World Cup squad.
Chile's Torneo Clausura began Jan. 11. Notable among players named to the Chilean squad is Universidad Católica midfielder Mark Gonzalez, who ranks second in the league with four goals after the first three matches.
GOALKEEPERS: Johnny Herrera (Universidad de Chile), Paulo Garces (Colo Colo)
DEFENDERS: Juan Cornejo (Audax Italiano), Paulo Diaz (Palestino), Gonzalo Fierro (Colo Colo), Osvaldo Gonzalez (Universidad de Chile), Erick Pulgar (Universidad Católica), Jose Rojas (Universidad de Chile), Cristian Suarez (Universidad de Chile)
MIDFIELDERS: Bryan Carrasco (Audax Italiano), Gonzalo Espinoza (Universidad de Chile), Mark Gonzalez (Universidad Católica), Marco Medel (Santiago Wanderers), Angelo Sagal (Huachipato), Diego Valdes (Audax Italiano), Jaime Valdes (Colo Colo), Cesar Valenzuela (Palestino)
FORWARDS: Juan Delgado (Colo Colo), Roberto Gutierrez (Universidad Católica), Andres Vilches (Huachipato)
