Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the opening game of the Copa America between Chile and Ecuador.

Jorge Sampaoli's side enter the tournament with the great weight of expectatation as the host nation and they will be determined to get off to a good start this evening in the Estadio Nacional in Santiago.

La Roja boast a fearsome attacking presence which is expected to fire them deep into the competition. Alexis Sanchez leads the way as the Arsenal forward proved his quality in his first season in the Premier League. His 16 strikes guided the Gunners to third place in the table and with it an automatic place in the group stages in the Champions League next season. The 25-year-old can score from almost anywhere on the pitch as his goal against Aston Villa in the final of the FA Cup proved. The forward's performances at the competition will play a major part in how far his team progress.

Arturo Vidal had an excellent season for Juventus in their double-winning campaign, while he also displayed his quality in the final of the Champions League. He will be looking to link up with Sanchez throughout the tournament to provide goals for Sampaoli's side from his role just behind the Arsenal forward. He should be a very exciting player to watch.

The teams news is out and we'll start with the home side.

CHILE STARTING XI: Bravo, Isla, Medel, Jara, Mena, Diaz, Aranguiz, Beausejour, Valdivia, Vidal, Sanchez
Subs: Garces, Fuenzalida, Miiko Albornoz, Vargas, Rojas, Pizarro, Pinilla, Herrera, Fernandez, Henriquez, Gutierrez, Silva

ECUADOR STARTING XI: Dominguez, Paredes, Achilier, Erazo, Ayovi, Martinez, Lastra, Noboa, Montero, Bolanos, Valencia
Subs: Angulo, Dreer, Pineida, Bagul, Azcona, Ibarra, Larrea, Cazares, Mina, Jonathan Gonzalez, Narvaez, Quinonez

As expected Sanchez leads the line for La Roja with Vidal in close support down the right flank. Former Wigan Athletic man Jean Beausejour also features for Sampaoli's side down the left flank, while other notable names from the Premier League Mauricio Isla and Gary Medel make up half of the backline for Chile this evening. Eduardo Vargas and Matias Fernandez are available from the bench for Sampaoli should his side need their services this evening.

West Ham United striker Enner Valencia starts up front for Ecuador alongside Miller Bolanos. Swansea City winger Jefferson Montero will operate on the left flank for the Quinteros's men this evening, while Juan Carlos Paredes of Watford is among the backline.

PREDICTION: The hosts will be determined to get off to a good start in the competition and should have enough quality to see off Ecuador this evening with Sanchez and Vidal in their starting lineup. So a 2-0 victory will be on the cards for Sampaoli's men at the Estadio Nacional.

Chile have never won the competition in their history, despite reaching the final four times. They reached the quarter-finals in the last two tournaments, but home advantage may spur them on to glory this time around.

The players are making their way out on to the pitch and we should be underway shortly.

A huge amount of passion from the home supporters as the Chile national anthem blazes around the Estadio Nacional. We hope that passion is on display from both sets of players this evening.

KICKOFF! We're underway in the Copa America!

CHANCE! Chile almost take the lead in the second minute through a well-worked move as Sanchez collected the ball on the edge of the box and held off the challenge of Erazo. However, he could only poke his effort from close range wide of the target. Nearly a dream start for the hosts.

CHANCE! A long ball over the top of the Ecuador defence finds Sanchez down the right. On the edge of the box he tries to lift the ball over the on-rushing Dominguez, but the keeper manages to get enough on the ball to claim it.

Chile work the ball well on the edge of the Ecuador box as Isla is able to find plenty of space down the right, but Erazo comes up with an important clearance to stop a lofted pass from Valdivia from finding Vidal in the penalty area. Fast start from Sampaoli's men.

Valdivia is involved in his side's attacking move again as he tries to release the run of Vidal beyond the Ecuador backline, but Dominguez is able to read the pass and collect on the edge of his box before the Juventus man can latch on to the pass.

Achilier makes a crucial intervention for Quinteros's men as Sanchez almost threads a pass through for the run of Isla in the inside right channel, but the defender comes acros to clear the ball with authority. Solid start for the Ecuador defence.

Sloppy play from Chile as they waste two good positions in the final third. Vidal and Diaz link up well down the right to send the midfielder in space down the flank, but Diaz's cross fails to beat the first man. Vidal then spurns a promising position with a loose pass to Isla, which allows Montero to break upfield.

Chile are trying to work their way into a passing rhythm in the match as it just hasn't been clicking in the final third, which is to be expected in the first game of the tournament.

Montero breaks down the left for Ecuador and reaches the byline before he cuts the ball back across the face of goal, but Martinez cannot latch onto the cross to divert the ball past Bravo. Close one for the hosts.

CHANCE! Valdivia gives the ball away on the edge of his own box and Martinez steals possession. The forward curls an effort towards the top corner with his left foot, but Bravo makes a good save to turn the ball away from goal.

Vidal threads the ball through to Isla, who makes a good run down the flank, but his attempted ball across the face of goal looking for Vidal is collected at his near post by Dominguez.

YELLOW CARD: Martinez goes into the book for Ecuador for a poor challenge on Vidal.

From the resulting free kick, Sanchez's delivery into the box is poor and allows Paredes to hit on the counterattack. The full-back raids down the right and tries to hit an ambitious cross to the back post for the run of Montero, but his cross is cut out with ease.

Another chance for Chile to threaten as Valdivia is brought down 25 yards from goal by Bolanos, and Sanchez stands over the ball to take the set piece.

Sanchez's attempt is poor as he blasts his free kick straight into the wall and allows Quinteros's men to clear with ease. Not the best start for the Arsenal forward.

YELLOW CARD: Jara is the first Chile to be booked for an altercation in the box while Ayovi tries to take a corner for Ecuador.

From the corner, Martinez manages to get a header on Ayovi's cross from the left, but his effort is tame and Bravo is able to gather the ball with ease.

Chile win another set piece and Diaz gets the chance to whip the ball into the box from deep, but his delivery is poor and Achilier is able to win the header to clear the ball and stop the attack from the hosts.

CHANCE! Chile raid forward down the the right as Sanchez and Isla combine with a neat one-two. The full-back continues his run into the box and guides the ball towards goal with his left foot, but his strike goes inches past the post from a tight angle.

Montero has been a threat down the left side of the pitch for Ecuador. He continues to give Isla trouble as he uses his speed to raid past the full-back, and he puts his cross into a dangerous area, but no player in a yellow shirt is there to take advantage of the cross.

Bravo has to be alert to a ball over the top of his defence as the linesman's flag stays down when Valencia chases the ball. However, the keeper wins the footrace and clears the ball deep down the pitch.

Ayoiv advances down the flank and manages to win a free kick. The left-back has a slight angle to work as Ecuador pile bodies into the box, but the delivery from the defender is poor and fails to beat the first man. There has been a dearth of quality in the first half of this match.

It's goalless at the break in the Estadio Nacional and Chile do not have the start they were hoping for to kickoff the tournament. Alexis Sanchez could have given them the lead in the second minute, but he poked wide from close range. Meanwhile, Mauricio Isla also went close for the host nation as clear-cut opportunities have been hard to come by for Sampaoli's men as they have struggled to get into their passing rhythm.

Ecuador will be pleased with their performance in the opening 45 minutes as they have looked solid enough defensively as Gabriel Achilier and Fricson Ezaro have played well in the heart of the defence. Fidel Martinez had their best chance of the half as he curled an effort at goal from the edge of the box, which was well saved by Claudio Bravo. Jefferson Montero has had success down the left flank which could be something to monitor as the game progresses.

The players are making their way out on to the pitch for the second half, so we should be back underway shortly.

SUBSTITUTION: Eduardo Vargas comes on for the host nation to replace Beausejour.

We're back underway in the Copa America opener.

Sanchez makes a neat turn on the edge of the box and beats another defender with a sublime piece of skill, but tries to take on a third and his well tackled by Paredes, which allows Ecuador to clear the danger.

Montero raids down the left and slides the ball into the path of Valencia, but Jara is across quickly to out muscle the forward and win the ball. Valencia needed to be stronger there as that was a promising break.

Valencia makes another surge down the left for Ecuador as he manages to turn Medel and has options in the middle for a cross, but his second touch is very heavy and he can't stop the ball from going out of play. Wasted opportunity for the West Ham striker.

Chile raid down the right with Isla and his cross manages to find Sanchez at the back post. The forward tries to carve out space for a strike at goal, but he is surrounded by several yellow shirts. He tries a few more tricks, but only turns into trouble and Quinteros's men win the ball and clear upfield.

CHANCE! Montero continues his impressive outing as he raids past Medel down the left and cuts the ball back into the box for Valencia. The West Ham forward takes the shot on first time with the side of his foot, but his effort goes inches past the post. Close for Quinteros's men.

Chile break forward in numbers again and Sanchez tries desperately to find room for a shot, but his attempts are thwarted by excellent pressing by the Ecuador defence. He squares the ball to Vidal who takes a touch before drilling an effort at goal, but his strike goes wide of the target.

Ecuador's impressive display at the back is continuing in the second half as Ezaro and Achilier are being extremely stringent in and around their box. Lastra and Naboa have also provided an excellent shield in front of their back four this evening, which appears to be frustrating Sampaoli's men.

CHANCE! Sanchez carves the Ecuador defence open with an incisive through ball into the path of Vargas. The forward takes a touch to put the ball on to his right foot before firing an effort towards goal, but Dominguez is alert to make the stop at his near post. The strike was straight at the keeper, but it did have a fair bit of power behind it.

Bolanos grabs the shirt of Vidal and the Juventus man goes down under the contact leaving the referee to point to the spot. Vidal will take the spot kick.

Vidal keeps his composure and fires the penalty into the top corner beyond the reach of Dominguez, who went the right way, but there was too much power for him to make the stop.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Valdivia makes way for Fernandez for Chile, while Ecuador also make a change as Quinonez comes on for Lastra.

Chile are beginning to display their attacking flair in the final third as they are pushing men forward looking for a second, but Ecuador are holding firm at the moment.

Montero raids down the left flank and has Valencia in support in the middle. He opts against crossing the ball first time, but then gets crowded out as he tries to take the ball past four defenders. The Swansea City man may just have been trying to do too much there.

YELLOW CARD: Fernandez goes down in the penalty area as he tries to weave through a couple of tackles, but the referee decides that he went down of his own accord and books him for diving.

Chile work the ball well across the edge of the box before Fernandez takes it upon himself to strike from the edge of the box, but his shot goes over the bar.

A chance for Ecuador to threaten as Paredes wins a free kick on the edge of the box. The set piece is on the corner of the box, so it may provide a difficult angle to threaten at goal directly.

OFF THE BAR! Ayovi blasts his free kick into the wall, but he loops the ball back into the box for the run of Valencia. The striker powers a header at goal, but his effort cannons off the crossbar and bounces clear as Bravo was well beaten. A huge sigh of relief for Sampaoli's men.

Ecuador push forward again and Ibarra plays the ball through into the path of Valencia, but the forward takes a poor first touch which allows Bravo to come off his line and gather the ball at his feet.

Chile take a huge step towards securing a victory in the opening game as they hit Ecuador on the counterattack. Sanchez capitalises on a mistake from Ibarra and breaks forward and then reverses a pass into the feet of Vargas down the left. The forward manages to maintain his composure inside the the penalty area to fire past Dominguez.

The second goal has taken the belief right out of Ecuador just as they were having their best period of the match. However, the quality of Sanchez to pick out Vargas as well as the finish from the forward will be the difference between the two sides this evening.

There will be four minutes of added time.

RED CARD! Fernandez sees red for Chile as he picks up his second yellow card of the match as he mistimes his challenge on Paredes. He had to go there and Sampaoli will be without his services for their next game.

Chile get their campaign in the Copa America off to the perfect start on home soils as goals from Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas secure a 2-0 victory in the Estadio Nacional. The performance was not perfect from Jorge Sampaoli's men, but the manager will be pleased to see his side carve out a win without playing their best football.

Ecuador will be disappointed with the defeat as two lapses in concentration cost them a point and possibly more this evening. Miller Bolanos made a clumsy foul on Vidal to concede the penalty, while Alex Ibarra gave the ball away cheaply to Alexis Sanchez for the second goal. There were plenty of positives to build on for Gustavo Quinteros's men going forward for the rest of the competition.

Thanks for joining our commentary this evening. Be sure to stick with Sports Mole for the rest of the action from the Copa America.