Chile's return to the World Cup after a 12-year absence owes much to the foresight of enigmatic Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa, who has overseen the emergence of some extremely promising young players.

La Roja have not graced the sport's greatest tournament since the fabled Marcelo Salas-Ivan Zamorano strike partnership took them as far as the last 16 at France 1998.

Bielsa took up the reins in 2007 and his adventurous youth policy paid immediate dividends as Chile qualified for South Africa in second place in the South American qualifying zone behind Brazil.

Drawn alongside European champions Spain, Switzerland and Honduras in Group H, Chile will fancy their chances of matching their 1998 achievements and attacking midfielder Jorge Valdivia says they could surprise people.

"On the pitch it's 11 versus 11 and any side could end your tournament," said the 26-year-old, who plays for Qatari side Al Ain.

"You may have the best individual players in the world but not have a real team, so anything can happen. Chile are a good side and well capable of causing a few shocks."

Chile's football federation was founded in 1895 but they have never won a major tournament and their best World Cup result was a third-place finish on home soil in 1962.

Their current renaissance has its roots in Chile's Under-20 side, which won the prestigious Toulon Tournament in 2009, having reached the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup in Canada two years earlier.

Bielsa, who led his home nation to an embarrassing group-stage exit at the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea, was quick to inject young blood into the ageing squad he inherited in 2007 but results, initially, were mixed.

In qualifying Chile earned their first ever point against Uruguay in Montevideo and recorded their first ever win over Argentina in a World Cup qualifier, but 3-0 home defeats to Paraguay and then Brazil were the heaviest in their history.

Gradually, though, Bielsa's attacking philosophy has borne fruit.

Back-to-back wins in Paraguay (2-1) and at home to Bolivia (4-0) last June lifted them to second in the standings and they booked their place in South Africa with a rousing 4-2 defeat of Colombia in their penultimate match.

They finished a point behind Brazil, having secured 16 of their 33 points away from Santiago, scored 32 goals - one less than Brazil - and won 10 of their 18 matches, which was more than any other side bar Paraguay.

Salas briefly came out of retirement at the age of 34 to score both goals in a 2-2 draw in Uruguay but his return was a short-lived affair.

Bielsa now places full faith in his young tyros, led by 22-year-old Boca Juniors midfielder Gary Medel, classy Sporting Lisbon playmaker Matias Fernandez and 21-year-old Udinese livewire Alexis Sanchez.

Humberto Suazo was the top scorer in qualifying with 10 goals and at 29 is the grandfather of the side.

"The most important thing at a World Cup is to make sure the players are in top form and that depends on so many different factors," said Bielsa.

"Some of them you can control, but some are the result of everything the player has been through in the previous ten months. I hope everything comes together for Chile."

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