As we approach the final stretch of this cycle of Conmebol's WCQ, the battle for a place in the plane to Qatar takes a more definitive shape. Argentina holds (or is held to) a draw in the derby, but qualifies to Qatar'2022 due
to other results tonight. Brasil and Argentina are still unbeaten, and still have that pending game in S|uo Paulo in hand. Maybe FIFA was just waiting for Argentina's qualification to finally reach a decision about that one, so let's see if they will now (even whether they'll play it at all).
But although Brasil and Argentina are through, the race remains very much on. Ecuador got a key away victory in Chile and put themselves on a comfortable third place, six points ahead of the pack. They seem to be a safe bet for the third spot, but they cannot relax just yet, as they have a tricky road ahead. Following them, six teams are separated by 4 points, on a zone of the table with 1.5 spot available (almost like an European qualification group :-)). There will be nine games amongst these in the coming 4 rounds, and none of these contestants look particularly reliable, so I expect there should be
some rocking action coming up in January and March.
Bolivia 3-0 Uruguay
Another bump on the road for a very lethargic and unproductive Uruguayan team at Estadio Hernando Siles, in La Paz. Juan Arce opened count on the 29th min, with a long distance shot from the left sideline that Muslera fumbled and let through. In the 44th minute, Vecino conceded a silly corner kick and Marcelo Moreno headed in the second. In the second half, Uruguay tried to make itself more present, but Bolivia remained in command and all the celestes could muster were a few long distance shots, generally handled by Lampe without much trouble.
And even though Bolivia had a man sent off in the 73rd minute, Bolivia soon added a third, again Juan Arce heading in from a lob into the penalty box.
It could have been worse, as Marcelo Moreno missed a penalty in the 61st minute.
He did a little stutter on his run, Muslera didn't buy it and he sent it over the bar. Why not simply run and shoot?
This result brings Bolivia close to the pack, though it's hard to see them actually challenging due to their inability to get away points. Still, nice
to see a new face in the mix, for what it's worth. As for Uruguay, that's now five games without a win, four losses in a row. For all the roughness of a schedule that pit them against Argentina twice, Brasil and Bolivia both away, they were very easy prey as visitors and showed very little overall. The
end of year break will be rather welcome for them.
Venezuela 1-2 Peru
A very important win for Peru at Estadio Olimpico de la UCV, their first in Venezuela in 24 years. Lapadula scored first, in the 18th minute. Venezuela slowly grew back into the game and equalized in the 52nd, on a nice finish
by Machis. On the 65th a nice free kick by Cueva caught Fari|#ez wrongfooted and put Peru ahead again. Immediately after that there was a penalty for Venezuela, but Gallese stopped Machis's effort.
Peru are now definitely into the pack, which goes to show what lengths any
two wins in a row can get you in such close quarters.
Colombia 0-0 Paraguay
To nobody's surprise no goals at this meeting at Estadio Metropolitano de Barranquilla, between two teams that cannot score for five games in a row
now. Colombia made most of the play and was closer to score than Paraguay,
but to no avail.
Colombia somehow remains inside the automatic qualification zone, in spite
of having won 3 games out of 14 and a negative goal difference. This used
to be Paraguay's job... Paraguay is relatively close to the pack but, like Bolivia, doesn't seem to have enough fuel to put up a challenge.
Argentina 0-0 Brasil
A hard and intense derby at Estadio Bicentenario de San Juan. Not a lot of scoring chances for either side, but they put up an interesting battle, nonetheless. Argentina took the initiative and tried to put Brasil on its
back foot, but Brasil was very solid defensively and incisive in counter attack. Argentina was very lucky that Otamendi didn't see red for an elbow
on Raphinha's face, which the ref didn't even call a foul or consult VAR.
In the second half Argentina actually made most of the play, but Brasil
was still dangerous on the break. Messi was successfully shut down and
could only muster a shot on target near the end of the game.
Since Peru and Colombia still have to play each other, they cannot both overtake Argentina, which means Argentina are over the line and qualified
to Qatar'2022. No big surprise, I guess. Brasil, without Neymar and Casemiro, was solid and composed in front of a dangerous opponent and a loud crowd,
and it wouldn't have been out of place if they had stolen the three points here. But in the end, both sides protected their unbeaten runs.
Chile 0-2 Ecuador
Huge win for Ecuador, their first ever over Chile in Chile, and one that
puts a comfortable distance between them and the rest of the pack. Ecuador scored an early goal with Estupi|#an, at the 8th minute, and five minutes later Vidal helped the Ecuadoran cause by getting himself a straight red
card for a high kick on Felix Torres's head. He did not mean it, and even
the Ecuadoran players comforted him seeing his despair at the expulsion,
but the red was deserved for his sheer recklessness.
A man up, Ecuador controlled the game and had a few opportunities to improve their lead. Chile eventually grew back into the game, but left spaces in
the back and, in the 92nd minute, Caicedo settled matters with a hard shot
at Bravo's lower left corner.

Ecuador now puts six points between them and 4th place, with four rounds
to go. Even if their final run is tricky, they are very well-posed for
Qatar now. Chile, on the other hand, slipped up on a game they shouldn't,
as they still have to play Argentina, Brasil and Uruguay, as well as visit Bolivia. Rough waters ahead for them.
Table [points, games, w-d-l, gs-gc, gd]
1 Brasil 35 13 11 2 0 27 4 23
2 Argentina 29 13 8 5 0 20 6 14
3 Ecuador 23 14 7 2 5 23 13 10
4 Colombia 17 14 3 8 3 16 17 -1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Peru 17 14 5 2 7 15 20 -5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 Chile 16 14 4 4 6 15 16 -1
7 Uruguay 16 14 4 4 6 14 21 -7
8 Bolivia 15 14 4 3 7 20 28 -8
9 Paraguay 13 14 2 7 5 9 18 -9
10 Venezuela 7 14 2 1 11 9 25 -16
Next round to be played in January 27th, 2022. In brackets below, the results of
these games in the WCQ cycles of 2018/2014/2010/2006/2002/1998 (all the round robin ones so far):
Colombia - Peru (2-0, 2-0, 1-0, 5-0, 0-1, 0-1). Matchday 5: PER 0-3 COL
A key game for both sides here. Usually Colombia would have the edge, but
they have been so toothless, and Peru might be able to take advantage of
that. Then again, they might not. Difficult one to call, I'll go for a 1-1
draw (in soph-terms: Colombia 0.25, draw 0.50, Peru 0.25).
Venezuela - Bolivia (5-0, 1-0, 5-3, 2-1, 4-2, 1-1). Matchday 5: BOL 3-1 VEN Although Venezuela are far adrift at the bottom, and have the worst home
record so far, they'll be visited by one of the continent's most harmless travelers. Even if Bolivia are only two points from the playoff spot, it
is still difficult to see them winning on the road, as they should if they intend to pose any serious challenge. I'll just call another 1-1 draw here since it's interesting to see Bolivia close to the pack for a change (in soph-terms: Venezuela 0.35, draw 0.55, Bolivia 0.10).
Paraguay - Uruguay (1-2, 1-1, 1-0, 4-1, 1-0, 3-1). Matchday 5: 0-0
Both sides on a poor run. If this was the Paraguay of yore, I'd say Uruguay would have a pretty tough time at Estadio Defensores del Chaco. But this
is the Paraguay of today, that only won 2 out of 14, both against Venezuela, and that share the joint worst home record thus far. Uruguay has a much
better side, but their form has been horrible, we'll see what the end of
year break will do to it. I'd say La Celeste starts their much needed comeback here with an 1-2 win (in soph-terms: Paraguay 0.25, draw 0.30, Uruguay 0.45). Chile - Argentina (1-2, 1-2, 1-0, 0-0, 0-2, 1-2). Matchday 5: 1-1
Historically this is a very difficult match for Chile, even with their successes over Argentina in decisive encounters in the past decade. On
one hand Argentina is already in, so they have little to play for, but
of course they'll want to maintain their very good form and try to improve
on what's already working. Chile will have their hands full here, and
cannot afford slips anymore. I'll call it a 2-2 draw, with a slight
edge to the visitors though (in soph-terms: Chile 0.30, draw 0.30,
Argentina 0.40)
Ecuador - Brasil (0-3, n/a, 1-1, 1-0, 1-0, n/a). Matchday 5: BRA 2-0 ECU
Five years ago Ecuador was the first opponent Brasil faced with Tite as manager, which resulted in a surprisingly easy win for the visitors in the altitude. Here, Brasil is already qualified and has nothing to play for,
while Ecuador, although with a cushy distance than their peers, cannot rest
on their laurels just yet. But Brasil is by far the stronger side. All this considered, I'll go for a draw on this one, 1-1 (in soph-terms: Ecuador 0.25, draw 0.45, Brasil 0.30).
--
Ll|-o
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
* Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)

On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 5:24:31 AM UTC+1, Ll|-o wrote:

As we approach the final stretch of this cycle of Conmebol's WCQ, the battle for a place in the plane to Qatar takes a more definitive shape. Argentina holds (or is held to) a draw in the derby, but qualifies to Qatar'2022 due to other results tonight. Brasil and Argentina are still unbeaten, and still have that pending game in S|uo Paulo in hand. Maybe FIFA was just waiting for
Argentina's qualification to finally reach a decision about that one, so let's
see if they will now (even whether they'll play it at all).

But although Brasil and Argentina are through, the race remains very much on.
Ecuador got a key away victory in Chile and put themselves on a comfortable third place, six points ahead of the pack. They seem to be a safe bet for the
third spot, but they cannot relax just yet, as they have a tricky road ahead.

Following them, six teams are separated by 4 points, on a zone of the table with 1.5 spot available (almost like an European qualification group :-)). There will be nine games amongst these in the coming 4 rounds, and none of these contestants look particularly reliable, so I expect there should be some rocking action coming up in January and March.

Bolivia 3-0 Uruguay

Another bump on the road for a very lethargic and unproductive Uruguayan team
at Estadio Hernando Siles, in La Paz. Juan Arce opened count on the 29th min,
with a long distance shot from the left sideline that Muslera fumbled and let
through. In the 44th minute, Vecino conceded a silly corner kick and Marcelo Moreno headed in the second. In the second half, Uruguay tried to make itself
more present, but Bolivia remained in command and all the celestes could muster
were a few long distance shots, generally handled by Lampe without much trouble.
And even though Bolivia had a man sent off in the 73rd minute, Bolivia soon added a third, again Juan Arce heading in from a lob into the penalty box.

It could have been worse, as Marcelo Moreno missed a penalty in the 61st minute.
He did a little stutter on his run, Muslera didn't buy it and he sent it over
the bar. Why not simply run and shoot?

This result brings Bolivia close to the pack, though it's hard to see them actually challenging due to their inability to get away points. Still, nice to see a new face in the mix, for what it's worth. As for Uruguay, that's now
five games without a win, four losses in a row. For all the roughness of a schedule that pit them against Argentina twice, Brasil and Bolivia both away,
they were very easy prey as visitors and showed very little overall. The
end of year break will be rather welcome for them.

The results probably warrant it, but seeing |oscar T|ibarez being sacked is a bit sad.
Ciao,
Werner
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
* Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)

Werner Pichler escreveu:

On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 5:24:31 AM UTC+1, Ll|-o wrote:

Bolivia 3-0 Uruguay
[SNIP]
This result brings Bolivia close to the pack, though it's hard to see them actually challenging due to their inability to get away points. Still, nice
to see a new face in the mix, for what it's worth. As for Uruguay, that's now
five games without a win, four losses in a row. For all the roughness of a schedule that pit them against Argentina twice, Brasil and Bolivia both away,
they were very easy prey as visitors and showed very little overall. The end of year break will be rather welcome for them.

The results probably warrant it, but seeing |oscar T|ibarez being sacked is
a bit sad.

Yes, a poor way to end his tenure. But I guess there really wasn't any other way. It's not really a matter of a burnt-out generation or anything, as the current Uruguayan team, on paper, should be doing a lot better than this. Something happened and he no longer seems able to make the machine work. Too bad.
And it's not even a matter of falling out with the players. Most of them never worked with any other manager in the national team (I think only God|!n remains from the pre-Tabarez days), and their general reaction to these news was to praise the (now former) boss and thank him for everything.
Since last month or so there was talk about bringing in current Internacional manager, Diego Aguirre, as his replacement. But it seems that the AUF have their eyes set on a high-profile foreigner, River Plate's Marcello Gallardo. Gallardo's contract with River ends at the end of this year and he's close to winning the Argentinian league for the first time with them (as manager), so with that out of the way, he might as well go for a new challenge. The last time Uruguay had an Argentinian manager it did not work out well at all for them, but of course those were very different days (talent-wise as well). Other names thrown around were Gustavo Poyet and Hernan Crespo.
Anyway, the AUF better wrap it all up fast. January is just around the corner and it's only four rounds to turn the ship around now. I think they can do it, because they have better players and a possibly less complicated run than most of their opponents, but not much more room for screw-ups anymore.
As for Tabarez, he may not be the most popular person in Uruguay at this moment,
but his contribution to their football is there. He should take care of his health now.
--
Ll|-o
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
* Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)