Chile starts their World Cup Qualification on Thursday they will do the honor of hosting Brazil. La Roja is the newly crowned champions of South America. However, now begin the long road of qualifying to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile will be the venue where these two South American heavy weights will meet for the 71st time.

Over the years, the Canarinho’s have dominated La Roja by earning a 49-14-7 record and outscoring them 169 to 59. However, this is not the Brazil of old. Yes, head coach Dunga has brought back one of the old guards Kaka back to the national team, but this Brazilian team is still finding their new identity.

Dunga will have to come up with a game plan to defeat Chile on the road. However, since Neymar will not be available since he is serving his suspension from the Copa America, a new hero will have to emerge from the Samba Kings. The Canarinho’s without Neymar will need to find a way to produce chances and keep the Chilean attack at bay.

The Brazilians will need players like: Oscar, Willian, Kaka, Luiz Gustavo, Hulk and Lucas to keep up the pressure. However, the bigger issue for the Canarinho’s is their defense. At times the Samba Kings defense may falter; facing a well-equipped Chile’s team might cause trouble for the five times World Cup champs.

Brazil will need to capture the possession of the ball and take the home crowd out of the game. The last thing Dunga wants is for the Canarinho’s to turn over the ball and allow Chile build up some sort of rhythm. The dream start for the Samba Kings will be to get an early goal on Thursday and force La Roja to just attack and become vulnerable in the back. That is where Oscar and Willian will need to use their speed and creativity to break down the home team defense.

Regardless that the Brazilians are in the middle of a change in their personal, Chile cannot look past the Samba Kings offense. If they do then La Roja’s goalie and Captain Claudio Bravo will have to be ready for a long shift at the Estadio Nacional.

Chile’s national team is currently on a high after winning their first Copa America in history. La Roja will need Arturo Vidal, Marcelo Diaz, Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sánchez to carry them against a tricky Brazilian side. The home team will need to make sure that they jump out of the gate offensively and have a physical approach towards the Canarinho’s attack. Bumping the five times World Cup champs around will slow down their attack and possibly cause them to get frustrated and commit silly fouls.

Brazil and Chile are both entering this game with a desire to leave with the three points. The Brazilians will need to bounce back from a disappointing Copa America, and starting qualifications with a victory will be the perfect remedy Dunga asked for.

Defeating the Canarinho’s at home will boost Chile’s confidence and get them on the right track to qualifying to Russia.

Prediction: Chile 3-1 Brazil