Bolivia national football team
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The Bolivia national football team (Template:Langx), nicknamed La Verde, has represented Bolivia in men's international football since 1926. Organized by the Federación Boliviana de Fútbol (Template:Langx),Template:Efn-ua it is one of the ten members of FIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they have qualified just once, in 1994, where they were eliminated in the group stage. Bolivia have never advanced past the first round of any World Cup, and have only scored one goal, in 1994. Despite their World Cup performances, Bolivia won the Copa América at home in 1963, and finished runners-up in 1997, which they also hosted. At the 2015 Copa América in Chile, they advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1997, after defeating Ecuador 3–2. This also ended a winless streak in the Copa América, with their last win being on 28 June 1997, when they defeated Mexico 1–0 in the semi-finals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History

Bolivia debuted in international football in 1926, one year after the Bolivian Football Federation was founded, and joined FIFA that same year. As participants at the 1926 South American Championship in Chile, Bolivia played their first match against the hosts on 12 October 1926, and even ended up scoring first against them, but wound up being defeated by the Chileans 7–1. Bolivia also lost their following three matches: 0–5 against Argentina, 1–6 against Paraguay and 0–6 against Uruguay.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1930, Bolivia was one of the teams invited to the inaugural edition of the World Cup, held in Uruguay. Drawn in Group 2 of the 1930 World Cup, Bolivia lost both its games 4–0, first to Yugoslavia at the Estadio Parque Central, and then to Brazil in the Estadio Centenario.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The match versus the Yugoslavs would be the last match against non-South American opposition for Bolivia until 1972 – when they again met Yugoslavia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They returned for the 1950 World Cup, where Argentina's withdrawal from the qualifiers gave Bolivia an automatic berth. With three teams declining to play in Brazil, Bolivia was put in a group of two along with Uruguay. The Bolivians' only game was an 8–0 defeat to Uruguay at the Estádio Independência in Belo Horizonte.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bolivia's greatest football achievement was the 1963 South American Championship title, which they hosted and won after placing first out of 7 countries, including being undefeated, with five wins and one draw. The only draw for Bolivia in the tournament was a 4–4 draw against Ecuador in the opening match. They also had the advantage of being better accustomed to higher altitudes.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the following edition, the 1967 South American Championship, held in Uruguay, Bolivia finished last out of six teams, with one draw and four losses, which was far below what the public expected, as Bolivia had been the defending champion.
Afterwards, the country only started to resurge at an international level with the creation of the Academia Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1978, a football school that developed players such as Marco Etcheverry, Erwin Sánchez and Luis Cristaldo.
Under Spanish coach Xabier Azkargorta and featuring nine players from Tahuichi, Bolivia surprisingly became the first team to beat Brazil in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers while playing them in La Paz, with a 2–0 win, and qualified for the 1994 World Cup by finishing second in Group B behind the Brazilians themselves, which included record 7–0 and 7–1 wins over Venezuela during their qualification campaign.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Bolivia was drawn into the tournament's Group C, and played defending champions Germany in the tournament's opening match at Soldier Field. Bolivia outplayed Germany in the first half. In the second half, Lothar Matthäus took a 40-yard run and struck Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry with a high elbow to his jaw. Etcheverry retaliated by fouling Matthäus and was sent off. Eventually, Bolivia lost on a controversial offside goal by Jürgen Klinsmann. Following a goalless draw with South Korea at Foxboro Stadium, where Bolivia was forced to play with ten men again after Cristaldo's red card, Bolivia returned to Chicago and lost 3–1 to Spain, with Sánchez scoring the first ever Bolivian goal in a World Cup.<ref>1994 FIFA World Cup Technical Report (p. 133)</ref>
Following the World Cup, Bolivia participated in the 1995 Copa América held in Uruguay, with Antonio Lopez Habas as manager, where they made the quarter-finals for the first time since winning the competition in 1963, with one win, one draw, and one loss. In the quarter-finals, the nation lost to hosts Uruguay 2–1. Despite the decent performance the team displayed during the tournament, Lopez Habas left his post shortly before the 1997 Copa America, being replaced by Dušan Drašković. The 1997 edition was the second time Bolivia held the tournament. The team reached the final, as had happened last time Bolivia was the host, but this time they finished runner-up to reigning world champion Brazil after losing 3–1 in the final.<ref name="auto" />

With their runner-up finish at the previous Copa America, Bolivia made their first and only FIFA Confederations Cup appearance in the 1999 edition, this time under new Argentine manager Héctor Veira. Bolivia was placed in group A along with hosts Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Their campaign started with a 2–2 draw against Egypt. Their next match was a 0–0 draw against Saudi Arabia. For their last match in the group, they had to play hosts Mexico, in which Bolivia lost 0–1 with a goal from Francisco Palencia. Bolivia finished third in the group with two draws and a loss, being eliminated from the tournament in the first stage.
In the 2015 Copa América in Chile, under Bolivian manager Mauricio Soria, Bolivia were placed in Group A, with Chile, Mexico, and Ecuador. In their match against Mexico, Bolivia drew 0–0. However, against Ecuador, Bolivia won 3–2, with goals from Raldes, Smedberg-Dalence, and Moreno. From this victory against Ecuador, Bolivia made it to the next round, the quarter-finals, for the first time since the 1997 tournament, which they hosted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bolivia were defeated by Peru 1–3 in the quarter-finals of the tournament, and Bolivia's only goal of the game was a penalty in the last minutes of the match scored by Marcelo Moreno. In the next three Copa América editions, Bolivia performed poorly, losing all games in these tournaments.
In 2021, Bolivian Football Federation's new President, Fernando Costa Sarmiento, lamented the deteriorating condition of football in Bolivia and vowed to rebuild the country's football system. He accused the previous Presidents of mismanaging football as he aimed to reconstruct Bolivian football into a more professional manner.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On 28 March 2023, Bolivia registered its first-ever away win against a World Cup team in the 21st century, a 2–1 over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah in a friendly.Template:Cn
Stadium
Bolivia played their home matches at Estadio Hernando Siles, which has an altitude of Template:Convert above sea level, making it one of the highest football stadiums in the world. Many visiting teams have protested that the altitude gives Bolivia an unfair advantage against opponents. On 27 May 2007, FIFA declared that no World Cup Qualifying matches could be played in stadiums above 8,200 feet (2,500 m) above sea level.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, FIFA raised the altitude limit to 3,000 meters a month later after negative feedback against the ban, and included a special exception for La Paz, thus allowing the stadium to continue holding World Cup qualifying matches.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A year after the original ban, in May 2008, FIFA removed the altitude limit entirely.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2024 the Bolivian Football Federation decided that from then on the home games would be played in the Estadio Municipal de El Alto, that has an altitude of Template:Convert above sea level. The official reasoning by the coach is that it was freshly renovated and that they would play where they live.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Team image
Kit history
Bolivia's first uniforms were all white. In the 1930 FIFA World Cup, before the match with Yugoslavia, Bolivia painted one of the letters in "Viva Uruguay" in each of the eleven starters' jerseys to please the local crowd. In the following game with Brazil, given the adversary also wore white, Bolivia instead borrowed Uruguay's own blue uniform to play. Bolivia again painted a message to the hosts in the 1945 South American Championship, with the players' jerseys reading "Viva Chile". In 1946, Bolivia changed their jersey colors to black and white stripes, like the colors of the Cochabamba region. FBF reverted to white the following year. In 1957, FBF decided to use the colors of the Flag of Bolivia. Given that red and yellow were used by many of the other South American national teams, green became the primary color, leading to the nickname "La Verde" ("The Green").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Kit sponsorship
| Kit supplier | Period |
|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Penalty | 1977–1979 |
| Template:Flagicon Adidas | 1980–1982 |
| Template:Flagicon Penalty | 1983–1986 |
| Template:Flagicon Adidas | 1987–1988 |
| Template:Flagicon El Palacio de las Gorras | 1989-1990 |
| Template:Flagicon Adidas | 1991–1992 |
| Template:Flagicon Umbro | 1993–1999 |
| Template:Flagicon Atletica | 2000–2005 |
| Template:Flagicon Marathon | 2006–2010 |
| Template:Flagicon Walon | 2011–2014 |
| Template:Flagicon Marathon | 2015–present |
Results and fixtures
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
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2024
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2025
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2026
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Coaching staff
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Flagicon Óscar Villegas |
| Assistant coach | Template:Flagicon Horacio Pacheco Template:Flagicon Gabriel Ramírez Template:Flagicon Cristian Farah |
| Goalkeeper coach | Template:Flagicon Gustavo Gois de Lira |
| Fitness coach | Template:Flagicon Maximiliano Alonso |
| Fitness coach | Template:Flagicon Pablo Sciacia |
Coaching history
- Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
- Template:Flagicon Jose de la Cerda (1926)
- Template:Flagicon Jorge Valderrama (1927–1929)
- Template:Flagicon Ulises Saucedo (1930–1937)
- Template:Flagicon Julio Borelli (1938–1945)
- Template:Flagicon Diógenes Lara (1945–1947)
- Template:Flagicon Félix Deheza (1948–1950)
- Template:Flagicon Mario Pretto (1950–1952)
- Template:Flagicon César Viccino (1953–1958)
- Template:Flagicon Vicente Arraya (1959)
- Template:Flagicon Danilo Alvim (1960–1965)
- Template:Flagicon Dan Georgiadis (1966–1967)
- Template:Flagicon Rudi Gutendorf (1974)
- Template:Flagicon Ramiro Blacut (1979–1981)
- Template:Flagicon Raúl Pino (1985)
- Template:Flagicon Ramiro Blacut (1985–1987)
- Template:Flagicon Jorge Habegger (1988–1990)
- Template:Flagicon Ramiro Blacut (1991–1992)
- Template:Flagicon Xabier Azkargorta (1993–1994)
- Template:Flagicon Antonio López Habas (1995–1997)
- Template:Flagicon Dušan Drašković (1997–1998)
- Template:Flagicon Héctor Veira (1998–2000)
- Template:Flagicon Carlos Aragonés (2000–2001)
- Template:Flagicon Jorge Habegger (2001)
- Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Carlos Trucco (2001–2002)
- Template:Flagicon Dalcio Giovagnoli (2003)
- Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Nelson Acosta (2003–2004)
- Template:Flagicon Ramiro Blacut (2004-2005)
- Template:Flagicon Ovidio Messa (2005)
- Template:Flagicon Erwin Sánchez (2006–2009)
- Template:Flagicon Eduardo Villegas (2009)
- Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Gustavo Quinteros (2010–2012)
- Template:Flagicon Xabier Azkargorta (2012–2014)
- Template:Flagicon Mauricio Soria (2014)
- Template:Flagicon Néstor Clausen (2014)
- Template:Flagicon Mauricio Soria (2015)
- Template:Flagicon Julio César Baldivieso (2015–2016)
- Template:Flagicon Ángel Guillermo Hoyos (2016)
- Template:Flagicon Mauricio Soria (2016–2018)
- Template:Flagicon César Farías (2018)
- Template:Flagicon Daniel Farías (2018)
- Template:Flagicon Eduardo Villegas (2019)
- Template:Flagicon César Farías (2019–2022)
- Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Pablo Escobar (2022)
- Template:Flagicon Gustavo Costas (2022–2023)
- Template:Flagicon Antônio Carlos Zago (2023–2024)
- Template:Flagicon Óscar Villegas (2024–present)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up to the squad for the friendly match against South Korea and the Kirin Challenge Cup match against Japan on 14 and 18 November 2025, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite instagram</ref><ref>Template:Cite instagram</ref>
Caps and goals updated Template:As of, after the game against Japan.
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Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up during the last twelve months.
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COV Withdrew from the squad due to COVID-19.
INJ Withdrew from the squad due to injury.
PRE Preliminary squad / standby.
RET Retired from the national team.
SUS Withdrew from the squad due to suspension.
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Player records
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
- Template:Updated<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Players in bold are still active with Bolivia.
Most appearances

| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcelo Moreno | 108 | 31 | 2007–2023 |
| 2 | Ronald Raldes | 102 | 3 | Template:Nowrap |
| 3 | Luis Cristaldo | 93 | 5 | 1989–2005 |
| Marco Sandy | 93 | 6 | 1993–2003 | |
| 5 | José Milton Melgar | 89 | 6 | 1980–1997 |
| 6 | Juan Carlos Arce | 88 | 15 | 2004–2022 |
| Carlos Borja | 88 | 1 | 1979–1995 | |
| 8 | Julio César Baldivieso | 85 | 15 | 1991–2005 |
| Juan Manuel Peña | 85 | 1 | 1991–2009 | |
| 10 | Miguel Rimba | 80 | 0 | 1989–2000 |
Most goals
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcelo Moreno | 31 | 108 | {{#expr:31/108 round 2}} | 2007–2023 |
| 2 | Joaquín Botero | 20 | 48 | {{#expr:20/48 round 2}} | Template:Nowrap |
| 3 | Victor Ugarte | 16 | 45 | {{#expr:16/45 round 2}} | 1947–1963 |
| 4 | Carlos Aragonés | 15 | 31 | {{#expr:15/31 round 2}} | 1977–1981 |
| Erwin Sánchez | 15 | 57 | {{#expr:15/57 round 2}} | 1989–2005 | |
| Julio César Baldivieso | 15 | 85 | {{#expr:15/85 round 2}} | 1991–2005 | |
| Juan Carlos Arce | 15 | 88 | {{#expr:15/88 round 2}} | 2004–2022 | |
| 8 | Máximo Alcócer | 13 | 22 | {{#expr:13/22 round 2}} | 1953–1963 |
| Marco Etcheverry | 13 | 71 | {{#expr:13/71 round 2}} | 1989–2003 | |
| 10 | Miguel Aguilar | 10 | 34 | {{#expr:10/34 round 2}} | 1977–1983 |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
| FIFA World Cup record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result |
| 1930 | Group stage | Template:Fb 0–4 Template:Fb | Loss |
| Group stage | Template:Fb 0–4 Template:Fb | Loss | |
| 1950 | First round | Template:Fb 0–8 Template:Fb | Loss |
| 1994 | Group stage | Template:Fb 0–1 Template:Fb | Loss |
| Group stage | Template:Fb 0–0 Template:Fb | Draw | |
| Group stage | Template:Fb 1–3 Template:Fb | Loss | |
Copa América
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
Template:Color box Champions Template:Color box Runners-up Template:Color box Third place Template:Color box Fourth place
FIFA Confederations Cup
| FIFA Confederations Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Squad |
| Template:Flagicon 1992 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1995 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1997 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1999 | Group stage | 6th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Squad |
| Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2001 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 2003 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 2005 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 2009 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 2013 | |||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 2017 | |||||||||
| Total | Group stage | 1/10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — |
| FIFA Confederations Cup record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result |
| 1999 | Group stage | Template:Fb 2–2 Template:Fb | Draw |
| Group stage | Template:Fb 0–0 Template:Fb | Draw | |
| Group stage | Template:Fb 0–1 Template:Fb | Loss | |
Pan American Games
| Pan American Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip | Template:Tooltip |
| Template:Flagicon 1951 | Did not participate | |||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1955 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1959 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1963 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1967 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1971 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1975 | Round 2 | 6th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| Template:Flagicon 1979 | Did not participate | |||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1983 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1987 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1991 | ||||||||
| Template:Flagicon 1995 | ||||||||
| Since 1999 | See Bolivia national under-23 football team | |||||||
| Total | Round 2 | 1/12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
Honours
Continental
- South American Championship / Copa América
- Template:Gold1 Champions (1): 1963
- Template:Silver2 Runners-up (1): 1997
Regional
- Bolivarian Games
- Template:Gold1 Gold medal (2): 1970, 1977
- Template:Silver2 Silver medal (2): 1938, 1947–48s
- Template:Bronze3 Bronze medal (2): 1965, 1973s
Friendly
- Copa Paz del Chaco<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (4): 1957, 1962, 1979, 1993
- Copa Mariscal Sucre<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (1): 1973s
Summary
| Competition | Template:Gold1 | Template:Silver2 | Template:Bronze3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONMEBOL Copa América | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
- Notes
- s Shared titles.
Notes
Template:Reflist Template:Notelist
See also
- Bolivia national under-23 football team
- Bolivia national under-20 football team
- Bolivia national under-17 football team
- Bolivia national futsal team