Argentina and Brazil will have their own battle in round 14 of the South American World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday. With Brazil already ahead and Argentina just fine, their encounter has little to do with the outcome of the campaign.
The hard truth for the rest of the continent is that with two positions effectively taken, there are only two and a half spots left – and they are being chased by seven nations; all others, except the bottom of the table Venezuela.
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Ecuador got himself four points and will be in third no matter what happens on Tuesday. But the plight of the three teams directly below them highlights the competitive nature of the campaign. Chile, Colombia and Uruguay All have 16 points. As it stands, the first of them will go to the World Cup, the second will have to go to the knockout stages, and the last team will go home. The lines are really thin.
And then two points further back are Peru – who finished bottom of the table at the beginning of September but played against each other. And then, two points behind them, Paraguay and Bolivia still clinging to faint hopes. If they can win four of the last five, they’ll get 24 points – good enough for Uruguay to take fifth place in the 2010 – World Cup qualifiers as Uruguay’s team advances to the semi-finals.
So the calculators are gone and the cardiologist’s number is at hand. There have been some wild fluctuations. Chile went seven games without a win, before bursting with life and stringing three consecutive wins. In contrast, Uruguay was unbeaten in 6 matches, until receiving 3 consecutive defeats. Colombia proved more steadfast. A 0-1 loss to Brazil on Thursday ended an eight-match unbeaten streak. But only two of them were wins.
It is very difficult to achieve the goal. Colombia have failed to find a net in their last 4 matches – like Paraguay, opponents on Tuesday. Colombia hopes that the late afternoon heat of Barranquilla will weaken the Paraguayans. Under new coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto, it is clear that Paraguay will aim to stay deep, reduce pressure and find a way to start up the pace. Miguel Almiron into the counterattack. Colombia could miss out on the neo midfielder’s defensive excellence Wilmar Barrios, who is suspended. It will be interesting to see if Colombia goes all out to attack from the start. For example, coach Reinaldo Rueda might be tempted to start with James Rodriguez? Or will he be substituted in the second half? A 0-0 draw here doesn’t really suit either side, which would make for an interesting encounter.
Another team that will need to address their desperation is Uruguay. They deserved better than the 0-1 defeat to Argentina last Friday, when they were attacking in midfield and had most of the chances. But that same plan will need to be adjusted for Tuesday’s trip to the fearsome heights of La Paz to face Bolivia. At 3,600 meters above sea level, disgruntled parties can play a difficult game to run. Uruguay will have to play firmly, save time and capitalize on the desperation of Bolivia, who have no chance of overcoming Qatar without winning all of their remaining home games.
Bolivia’s most recent conqueror has been Peru, who moved the ball fluidly past overly optimistic opponents in Lima last Thursday to soon lead 3-0. Peru could now find things more difficult with Venezuela, a better team just looking at the table can reveal. Coach Leonardo Gonzalez is keen to sign the caretaker charge with a win – last month his team beat Ecuador at home and also led Brazil for an hour. And they continued to go strong into the final phase of Thursday’s visit to Ecuador. Peru needs to win, and will have to fight for points.
But perhaps the most exciting game of the night (except Argentina vs Brazil) was the one in Santiago between Chile and Ecuador, where the third-placed team met the fourth-place team with high odds across the board. True, Ecuador will end the round still in third place. But the only home games they have left are against Brazil and Argentina. They cannot be taken for granted. Coach Gustavo Alfaro has created an exciting young team that is perhaps not immune to contradictions. They produced a couple of irresistible performances at home, tearing apart Colombia and Uruguay. But they have only one away win, in Bolivia. Alfaro is a proficient defensive organizer, and his team has gone pointless in the away games against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. But they were hard to break each time, and after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Venezuela, Alfaro announced that he would keep a clean sheet to take the team to Qatar. He has several key players back from suspension – central striker Michael Estrada, creative midfielder Angel Mena and attacking left-back Pervis Estupinan. All three of them were weapons for the counterattack.
Therefore, much will depend on his youthful defense, which is controlled by Felix Torres, can handle the Chilean attack. After three wins, there was a lot of faith in the Chilean team – but the loss due to striker Ben Brereton Diaz’s suspension was a serious blow. His physicality and enthusiasm elevate the whole aspect and provide the foundation for the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, who remains the team’s most important player. Chile’s golden generation mostly emerged together through the U20 team in 2007. They passed together in the closing stages of the Russia 2018 qualifiers. This time, they will have to enter strongly in the final. straight, because all of their remaining matches looked tough, starting with the clash of the Chilean veterans with the kids from Ecuador.
