Brazil and Argentina crossed the road way back within the South American World Cup qualifiers, and secured their place in Qatar. Barring a arithmetic accident, Ecuador will quickly be part of them. It is definitely attainable to think about two groups catching as much as a complete of 25 factors in Ecuador within the subsequent two ultimate rounds. However not less than one in every of these groups will even have to repair the aim distinction of greater than 10 in favor of Ecuador.
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Definitely Ecuador appears to be behaving like a crew that has already certified. They journey this Thursday to face Paraguay. Within the ultimate spherical of subsequent Tuesday, they are going to be at residence to Argentina – however have chosen to play the match at Guayaquil, at sea degree, quite than the peak of their traditional mountain fortress in Quito. The message coming from Ecuador, then, is that as a substitute of on the lookout for factors to safe their presence in Qatar, they’re already getting ready for the World Cup.
That leaves two locations obtainable – one for an computerized qualification, and a playoff place for the crew ending fifth, who will meet the Asian consultant in June. With one hand on the calculator and the opposite on the heart specialist’s telephone quantity, 4 nations are vying for these two digits — with various levels of desperation. The worst case is Colombia. They have not scored any targets in an astonishing seven matches – an nearly unimaginable succession of attacking failures from a crew with a lot expertise.
That race will nearly definitely finish on Thursday at residence to Bolivia. Normally this match is the “native banker”. Bolivia captures nearly all of its factors on its land at a really excessive altitude in La Paz. They’re recognized to be weak of their travels. On this marketing campaign, they’ve had two attracts and 6 defeats of their away matches, having scored solely six targets and conceded 25. So right here is the second when Colombia must be including their boots. The issue is that it might be too late. Colombia is the favourite to beat Bolivia, and is predicted to win in Venezuela subsequent Tuesday. However ending the marketing campaign with two wins will nonetheless rely upon outcomes elsewhere. A complete of 23 factors won’t be ok.
What applies to Colombia additionally applies to Chile. There is just one means Chile can get previous 23 factors – by doing one thing no crew has performed earlier than. Brazil, after all, misplaced the World Cup matches at residence. As of final yr they misplaced the Copa America in Rio de Janeiro. However they’re by no means undefeated as hosts within the World Cup qualifiers, a document they intend to keep up Thursday night time in Rio. It’s true that Brazil has a couple of absentees. However apart from left-back Alex Sandro, they will use the primary selection of a defensive unit that hardly ever seems to be conceding any aim these days. Up entrance, Neymar will take pleasure in a respite from the pressures of PSG, and there are many gamers – Richarlison, newcomer Gabriel Martinelli, and so forth. – whose World Cup participation is on the road.
So, the duty forward of Chile is gigantic. It is laborious for the stakes to be higher. Thursday’s match might mark the top of the worldwide aspirations of the good era that got here by the 2007 U-20 course of. Failure to make it to Qatar would be the final dance for the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, Claudio Bravo and Mauricio Isla. A final-minute drawback arose for Sanchez and Vidal. Their colleagues at Inter Milan, Lautaro Martinez of Argentina, and Matias Vecino of Uruguay, had been compelled to not take part in these matches after they examined optimistic for the Corona virus. These might be powerful hours for 2 of the best gamers in Chilean historical past, and it could be actually unhappy if a optimistic COVID-19 check robs them of their shot to glory on the Maracana.
An unquestioned tie within the Tour is Montevideo’s assembly of Uruguay and Peru, fourth in opposition to direct fifth contenders for that remaining auto slot. A string of 4 straight defeats left Uruguay anxious. However two victories by new coach Diego Alonso modified the scene. If Chile fails to make historical past by profitable in Brazil, Uruguay will advance to a spotty spherical with a win over Peru. Uruguay are the plain candidates. Alonso stabilized the ship by discovering methods to guard middle again Diego Godin, his veteran captain who started to creak. Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo is a rising defensive power and can seemingly be used as a right-back, with Jose Maria Jimenez offering further velocity as a middle again on the left aspect.
Furthermore, in entrance of their residence followers, Uruguay will unleash loads of attacking energy – Luis Suarez may very well be paired with Edinson Cavani or Darwin Nunez, whereas Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur will preserve the midfield stymied, Facundo Pelistre, a revelation within the final two rounds, and Giorgian de Arrascaeta will search To offer creativity.
With all their health, Uruguay is a crew that has the assets to be a powerful opponent in Qatar. First, after all, they have to seal their place. A number of years in the past, the end result of this sport was not unsure. Peru will inevitably collapse. Earlier than coach Ricardo Gareca took over, their away document was one thing of a horror room. Within the 2010 season and 14 defeats, they managed to realize one draw and 16 defeats, scored 11 targets and conceded 46. Pre-Jarica this decade scored 2 wins, 6 attracts, 27 defeats, 22 targets, 78 conceded. There was no important enchancment within the high quality of the gamers. However Gareka made it a resilient meeting able to delivering leads to tough situations.
Their subsequent 1-0 win over the wall away to Colombia in late January may very well be probably the most important results of your entire season. Peru must go deeper in controlling Uruguay. However all isn’t misplaced, even when Thursday went badly. Subsequent Tuesday, Peru hosts Paraguay – and until Chile performs tournaments in opposition to Brazil, profitable that match can be ok for Peru to qualify for the ultimate, simply as they did on the best way to Russia 2018.
