Vidal, 37 years old and who has played for clubs such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Flamengo, He had been sidelined by coach Ricardo Gareca from all the games the team played this year.
The last time Vidal played for Chile was on September 12, 2023 against Colombia, where he suffered an injury, which is why he missed the rest of the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches of the year.
Vidal, who on Sunday was crowned the 2024 Chilean soccer champion with Colo Colo, publicly criticized Gareca for not calling him and other players from the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ to the national team.
“Me, (Mauricio) Isla, Charles (Aránguiz), Marcelo (Díaz), we must be in the national team. The national team needs us”assured the ‘King’ when mentioning members of the generation of footballers that led Chile to win the 2015 Copa América and the 2016 Centenario.
La Roja’s roster is loaded with young players and only has striker Eduardo Vargas, from Atlético Mineiro, as a reference for its old guard. Forward Alexis Sánchez (Udinese) is out due to injury.
Vidal’s call comes a week after the scandal he was involved in with other Colo Colo players in a nightclub in Santiagowhere a woman accused them of sexually assaulting her.
However, no progress has been reported in the investigation, prosecutions or arrests.
La Roja will visit Peru on November 15 and host Venezuela on the 19th, two key games to maintain their World Cup aspirations.
Chile is last in the table with five points from a total of 10 teams, 7 points behind seventh Bolivia, which is in the playoff zone.