Brazil and Argentina the limit has been exceeded – and Ecuador will become the third World Cup qualifier in South America if they win Peru on Tuesday night.
It was a meeting of the third and fourth place teams in the table – it was a tribute to the great work of the two Argentine coaches. Gustavo Alfaro quickly appeared and rescued Ecuador from the downward spiral. They had an excellent start to the Russia 2018 qualifiers before collapsing. There were internal controversies – at one point it was not even clear who was running the local FA. Ecuador have lost their last six qualifying matches, and responded by bringing in Hernan Dario Gomez, who took them to their first World Cup in 2002. A disastrous 2019 Copa America ended his second reign. .
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Then there was a failed project with Jordi Cruyff, who resigned before taking charge of a single game, and with youth team coach Jorge Celico, who lost a friendly 6-1 to a team lack of Argentinians. Lionel Messi. In his place was Alfaro. As a counter-attack coach, he’s a good fit for Ecuador. He has a promising batch of young players to choose from – Ecuador were the South American Under-20 champions in 2019 – and he’s got the guts to throw youngsters into the depths.
The boss of Peru, Ricardo Gareca, must be jealous of the young Ecuadorian players. Peruvian football does not produce anything of the same quality. The only significant newcomer on the side since Russia 2018 is Gianluca Lapadula, a veteran Italian striker belatedly chose to represent his motherland. But Gareca continues to offer a Peruvian side that has more than the sum of its parts. They are well trained, with clear ideas of movement when holding the ball, and an amazingly solid defence. In the two qualifying campaigns against Gareca, Peru drew 1 away game – and lost the remaining 16. A downfall is never far away.
Now, without any major improvement in the quality of the players, they have become a lot more resilient. Last Friday, they were battered by this wave after the Colombian attack. But they stuck to their task, swerving past crosses, throwing themselves in front of shots – and ultimately secured an unquestionable victory with a rare late break out. Tuesday night in Lima will be different. At home, Peru will try to keep the game – which may fall into the hands of Ecuador’s counter-attacks. It’s an intriguing prospect – a clash between two teams brimming with confidence.
Below them, the level board was filled with people in despair. Peru vs. Ecuador closes round of 16 – opens in La Paz with a meeting of Bolivia and Chile. One of these teams might just sneak into fifth, the playoff spot. But there’s no room for either, and a tie is in nobody’s favor. It was therefore a dramatic case in the extreme highs of La Paz, where Bolivia is so strong. Although Chile has more points, Bolivia is probably in a stronger position. Two of their remaining three games are at home. Chile still has to visit Brazil. Fifth place is looking a long way.
The team that is currently in fifth place is Uruguaywho got off to a good start on Thursday under new coach Diego Alonso with a sound and well deserved 1-0 away win Paraguay. Now they are at the bottom of the table Venezuela. One would think that this match would be the home team, and Uruguay could already imagine what the group would look like after they won three more points. Venezuela, after all, has lost all seven away games so far. But that would be a dangerous thought. This Venezuela is not Venezuela. As they hit the road towards the 2026 World Cup under experienced new coach Jose Pekerman, they are in full force. Star center forward Salomon Rondon available. He started just three of 15 games – scoring in home wins against Chile and Bolivia (last Friday, where he scored a hat-trick), and giving Brazil something to think about in the game. lost 0-1. . With Rondon as the spearhead, aided by the wing play of Darwin Machis and Yeferson SoteldoVenezuela is very dangerous, and the match in Montevideo will be an interesting test against the new Uruguay.
One place below them in the table, Colombia will hope that Uruguay slides up. More than anything, Colombia will be hoping for a goal. Incredibly for such a talented team, Colombia have gone 6 games without finding the net. And now they march to face Argentina, undefeated in 28 games. But Colombia’s mission is not hopeless. Argentina is somewhat exhausted. There was no Lionel Messi and defender Cristian Romerosuspension also robbed them Nicolas Otamendiother first-half centre-back options, plus both left-backs at Nico Tagliafico and Marcos Acunaand key midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. And against Argentina’s grip on the ball, Colombia will certainly have some space to attack – something that was lacking last Friday against a very defensive Peru. Playing away can also give Colombia an advantage – relations between the team and the supporters in Barranquilla have become strained. Cordoba could be more hospitable.
But the most desperate situation is Paraguay. Like Colombia, they have gone six games without scoring, with the difference being that in their case, a goal rarely happens. And now they will face Brazil, a team that in history has never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home. Of course, they’ve lost World Cup matches – such as the unusual 7-1 defeat first Germany in 2014. Paraguay can draw a few things from the fact that the match venue is similar to that – the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. And they will also hope that Miguel Almiron Veteran right-back Daniel Alves can cause some damage. But the bad news for Paraguay is that even a historic victory, highly unlikely on Tuesday, followed by two more in March, will almost certainly not be good enough to make it to Qatar later this year.
