North America gave us a chaotic qualifying group in our last episode. Today, we head south for the second update of our South American qualifying group. In our first update we profiled the ten teams and played out the first three matches. This is how the table looks:
Peru continue to impress after their 2017 Draft World Cup semi-final appearance, whilst Brazil are once again in danger of missing out. But that has only covered 15 of a total 90 fixtures. Today, we follow the next six rounds, taking us up to the halfway stage.
The early stages were a chance for each side to lay down a marker and to work out their best strategies. Now is the time to crack on with accumulating points. Chile do exactly that with a straightforward 3-1 win against Bolivia, who already look a little bit behind the other sides. There was a particularly intriguing tie in Lima, as the great overachievers Peru faced the great underachievers Brazil. DWC form favoured Peru, and they lived up to it with a dominating 3-1 win, even missing a penalty. There were other mild surprises as Argentina went down 1-0 away to Colombia, whilst Paraguay lost away to Ecuador. In the round’s other match Venezuela looked to have earned a win away to Uruguay until Viatri’s late equaliser.
The early stages were a chance for each side to lay down a marker and to work out their best strategies. Now is the time to crack on with accumulating points. Chile do exactly that with a straightforward 3-1 win against Bolivia, who already look a little bit behind the other sides. There was a particularly intriguing tie in Lima, as the great overachievers Peru faced the great underachievers Brazil. DWC form favoured Peru, and they lived up to it with a dominating 3-1 win, even missing a penalty. There were other mild surprises as Argentina went down 1-0 away to Colombia, whilst Paraguay lost away to Ecuador. In the round’s other match Venezuela looked to have earned a win away to Uruguay until Viatri’s late equaliser.
Brazil only got four shots away against Peru, furthering the alarm bells. So it was a relief for them when they came from behind to beat Chile 2-1. Paraguay and Argentina faced each other as both were trying to bounce back from defeats. Paraguay took a 27-second lead, but Argentina equalised just before the hour mark through Lisandro Lopez. Argentina had been the better side, and looked well-set to push for victory. However, two late red cards left them hanging on to the 1-1 final score. 2017 DWC Golden Boot winner Sebastian Fernandez was on target as Uruguay claimed a 2-0 win over Colombia, whilst Bolivia’s terrible start continued with a 1-0 home loss to Ecuador. Meanwhile, Peru suffered their first defeat of qualifying as Rondon’s two goals sent them to a 3-1 loss away to Venezuela.
Unquestionably, the big match in the next round was the first clash between 2017 darlings Peru and Uruguay. A great half from hosts Peru saw them go three clear, and despite a strike from Fernandez Peru held out for a 3-1 victory. Colombia continued their quietly impressive campaign with a 1-0 win in a scrappy game against Paraguay. Argentina suffered déjà vu as they had to come from behind to Bolivia, before a red card scuppered their chances of preventing another 1-1 draw. Chourio’s long free kick late on salvaged a 2-2 draw for Venezuela as they travelled to Chile, whilst Brazil appeared to let off steam as they crushed Ecuador 6-1.
That win slightly reduced the pressure on Brazil at a crucial time, as their next match was their home tie against Argentina, arguably the highest-profile clash of the whole of DWC qualifying. Defender Geromel smashed in from a corner to put Brazil into an early lead, and Luan’s late header sealed a 2-0 win which really puts Argentina in trouble. Bolivia, meanwhile, picked up their first win, Joselito Vaca’s thunderous strike the only goal as they hosted Paraguay. Uruguay shrugged off their defeat to Peru by cruising to a 3-0 win over Chile. Meanwhile, the other two matches were tied, as Peru and Colombia draw 2-2, whilst Venezuela and Ecuador both scored early on as they drew 1-1.
Brazil finally appeared to have got into a groove, as they easily won 4-0 away to the struggling Paraguay. Such an improvement is something Argentina desperately need, as they hosted Venezuela. Fernando Belluschi gave Venezuela the blues with an early strike, and the sides traded goals early on in the second half. Argentina were able to hold onto the 2-1 score, despite Tagliafico’s straight red put that into doubt, Argentina’s fifth red card of the group. Uruguay picked up another good win, 3-1 away to Ecuador, whilst Colombia won by the same scoreline at home to Bolivia. Peru also looked like they were going to pick up another win, but Esteban Paredes’ header in the fifth minute of added time earned Chile a 2-2 draw.
Paraguay are already seeing the qualification spots drift away from them, and they moved further away by capitulating away to Venezuela, losing 4-0. Argentina picked up only their third win in eight by triumphing 1-0 away to Uruguay, whilst Colombia overwhelmed Chile to win 4-1. Brazil’s run of form ended as Bolivia matched them well to draw 1-1 at the Maracana. Elsewhere, Ecuador boosted their chances with a surprise 2-0 win away to Peru, including a goal within 12 seconds of the start.
So that brings us to the halfway stage of South American qualifying, let’s see what the table looks like:
So Colombia go top of the table after Brazil’s draw with Bolivia. Peru have slightly slipped, but still remain well-placed, as do Uruguay. Argentina have only themselves to blame that they have fallen behind Venezuela and Ecuador, whilst Chile need to improve after taking 2 points from their last 5 games. At the bottom, Bolivia and Paraguay appear cast away already, and Paraguay in particular have lost four games on the spin.
Next time
I love the South American mega-group so much, but we won’t be back for quite a while. Still, there’s tons of drama in the other groups, and next time we’ll get the third update from the two-legged play-offs in Africa. Cheerio!
Next time
I love the South American mega-group so much, but we won’t be back for quite a while. Still, there’s tons of drama in the other groups, and next time we’ll get the third update from the two-legged play-offs in Africa. Cheerio!