2026 World Cup Qualifiers!
Sports Desk, Nov 19 (EFE).-
Matchday 12 of South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup came to a close on Tuesday with Argentina in the lead with 25 points and five teams with just three points difference between the second placed team, Uruguay, with 20, and the sixth, Paraguay, with 17.
Meanwhile, Bolivia (13), which finished their match with a 2-2 draw against Paraguay and Venezuela (12), which fell to Chile 4-2, are fighting for the seventh position in the region’s qualifying while Chile (9) and Peru (7) closed the qualification with almost no hope of qualifying.
Brazil drew 1-1 with Uruguay after Gerson equalized seven minutes after Uruguay’s Federico Valverde scored.
The draw consolidated Uruguay in second place in the qualifiers with 20 points and relegated Brazil to fifth with 18, one less than Ecuador and Colombia’s 19, placed third and fourth.
Chile broke its eight-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against Venezuela that took it four points away from the playoff spot, which is in the hands of Bolivia with 13 points.
Chile’s victory was sculpted by Lucas Cepeda’s double, a goal by Eduardo Vargas and an own goal by Tomás Rincón, after Jefferson Savarino and Rubén Ramírez put Venezuela ahead twice on the scoreboard.
Despite not playing their best game, Argentina edged past Peru 1-0 with a goal by Lautaro Martinez, assisted by captain, Lionel Messi.
With six games left, Lionel Scaloni’s team surpassed the magic number of 24 points to ensure their qualification, while their rival, Peru, slumped to the bottom of the table with 7 points.
In the next game, which will be played in March 2025, Argentina will visit Uruguay and Peru will receive Bolivia.
Ecuador surprised Colombia 1-0 at home in Barranquilla, where it had not lost in these qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, sending it to fourth place with their second straight loss.
Enner Valencia’s goal in the 7th minute and Hernán Galíndez’s saves in the first half were enough for the team that played with 10 for 60 minutes to pick up its fifth straight win.
Colombia will now visit Brazil and Ecuador will receive Venezuela in the next round of qualifiers on Matchday 13.
Paraguay drew 2-2 with Bolivia to remain inside the automatic qualification places with 17 points.
The last game to decide the next World Cup Champion will be played in New Jersey.
EFE
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