Bolivia with a goleada over Paraguay, 4-0. if Chile-Venezuela ends in a draw or in a Venezuelan victory AND if Argentina defeats Peru, Bolivia will end this round of WCQ in 6th place, only 4 points behind Uruguay for the playoff spot.
What a finish in Colombia - Ecuador. The game was headed for a stalemate only for Mina to score after a throw in the dying seconds. Problem was he touched the ball with his hand. The goal was taken back thanks to VAR. Final whistle after 105 minutes.
Paraguay have been atrocious the last two matches. Very sloppy on the ball, non existent offense. They need a major turn around. I just don't see it.
They simply don't have enough quality. Their only decent player in attack is Almiron and he is just an ok player most of the time. Even Peru with their 30+ year old forwards looks more threatening. And other than that they don't have much else in the team. Only their CBs are great.
I agree. If Almiron is the best you have upfront then it's not going to be enough. Paraguay picked up decent amount of points at the start of the Eliminatorias but they had also the luck on their side in key moments. It was evident that it wouldn't be sustainable.
Ejecutivo de la AUF, en sesión permanente evaluando la continuidad de Tabárez https://www.elpais.com.uy/ovacion/f...viernes-tarde-tratar-continuidad-tabarez.html There is a sliver of hope...
Tabarez is done. New coach to be announced on Monday: Diego Aguirre, currently at Inter of Porto Alegre. vamo' arriba fiera!
Hold it! The saga continues… It appears that the AUF has made a 180 degree turn and Tabarez will stay on… that’s what’s being reported now… It might have been too good to be true… I should’ve known. We’ll see tonight.
Do they expect this Uruguay team to be able to compete with Argentina and Brazil away? 10 points from 5 matches against their 3 nearest competitors (Colombia, Ecuador, Chile) is already pretty good. Whether their mainstream media is willing to admit it or not, Uruguay are right where they should be given their squad, if not a bit above it.
You’re damn right we expect them to compete with Argentina and Brazil, we expect them to compete every time they walk into a pitch, against anybody. They can win or lose, we don’t care, but what they showed(or didn’t show) the last two games was shameful and an affront to Uruguayan football history. And Tabarez is to blame for it. You and anybody else can think whatever you want. We don’t care. We think we’re better than Colombia, Ecuador, or Chile, and thinking that way is what made us great.
The circumstances didn't help though. Playing Brasil and Argentina back-to-back, both away. And all that on the heels of playing Colombia which was super important because of where the 2 teams stand in the table. So of course you have a fatigued Uruguay team playing 3 important matches in a week playing well-rested Brasil away. And Tabarez and the team kind of proved it by going 3-1-1 against those teams combined. I feel like they most likely qualify in top 4 if they keep Tabarez. Which is the most important thing in the short term. Why risk it?
The guy is a good administrator, a great organizer. He changed all the structures of the National team. Great! But we need a COACH. Someone who can turn all this great young talent into a great team. He’s already demonstrated that he’s incapable of doing it. Valverde, Bentancur, Vecino, De la Cruz have no idea of what to do. One game they’re on the right, the next on the left or the middle. Nandez used to be a great 5, now he’s a mediocre halfback. Even the defense is looking shaky now. Imagine that! An Uruguayan defense looking shaky! He wasted Cavani and Suarez already. He had them for 12 or 13 years already and they don’t get a good pass if their life depended on it. Whenever they score is because they fabricated it themselves. At the beginning they had Forlán who could turn the bricks that he got from the back into something. Once he retired they look like two orphans back to back fighting against the world. Can you tell me what the Tabarez “system” is? What’s the strategy? Have you ever seen a substitution that changed a game? Ah but we keep winning “fair play” awards! “Why risk it?” is Tabarez’ philosophy. I say “nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
Rounds 13 and 14 are next. Thursday 11 - Friday 12: Brazil - Colombia Uruguay - Argentina Paraguay - Chile Ecuador - Venezuela Perú - Bolivia Tuesday 16: Argentina - Brazil Colombia - Paraguay Chile - Ecuador Bolivia - Uruguay Venezuela - Perú
Historical WC qualifying ranking ranking (CONMEBOL) for future reference: #1 Brazil 0 HL, 9 AW = +9 #2 Argentina 4 HL, 9 AW = +5 #3 Uruguay 6 HL, 7 AW = +1 #4 Colombia 8 HL, 8 AW = 0 #5 Chile 6 HL, 6 AW = 0 #6 Peru 7 HL, 6 AW = -1 #7 Paraguay 7 HL, 6 AW = -1 #8 Ecuador 7 HL, 5 AW = -2 #9 Venezuela 9 HL, 6 AW = -3 #10 Bolivia 9 HL, 2 AW = -7
Uruguay - Argentina, nice match. Several equal teams, battle for 3rd, 4th, 5th mostly. Chile skipped few positions thanks to defeats of Uruguay, Colombia. They should give 6 direct places to Conmebol. The quality became wider.
The highest pressure today is on Chile and Peru. They both have to win or their chances to qualify will be almost gone. Not even a draw is good for them today. Uruguay and Colombia have pressure as well but their remaining schedule is quite better. Still, Colombia at least will really want to win at home. Paraguay is completely eliminated in my opinion and Bolivia will get 0 points away from home so they are out as well.
Chile are 4th. What are you on about? I get they have rough games, and I agree they probably will not be beating Argentina or Brazil, but with the former it's at home and can never be ruled out. Also Chile play in La Paz which is tough but they have a good record there. Personally I'm not convinced with them either way. For me they've only got 3 wins on the bounce because they were VERY easy fixtures. I agree with the rest though. Peru has to win today because this is our easiest away game left, despite our shocking record in Venezuela.
Chile NEEDS to win this one. It's a direct opponent and their easiest remaining game in my opinion (because Uruguay is a much more dangerous visitor than Ecuador who will just park the bus). I don't see Chile picking up more than 7 points in the last 4 games. They will lose to Brazil like always and don't think they will beat both Argentina and Bolivia back to back. In comparison I can easily see Colombia doing 12 more points (their 3 home games and in last one away against the 4 bottom teams). And Uruguay can also easily get 10 or more points if they wake up (they don't play Argentina, Brazil, Colombia or Ecuador anymore for God's sake). Uruguay also plays early today, if they get a result in Bolivia it will put even more pressure on Chile. Chile can't afford to drop 2 points today. Not saying they will be eliminated, but their chances will be drastically reduced.
Other than the top two plus perhaps Ecuador (for now), no other team can afford to lose any more matches. Most teams other than Venezuela still have some chance or another to qualify. There are no easy home wins for most conmebol teams at the moment also. If Chile thinks tonight will be easy, we are mistaken.
Chile actually have a decent shot at beating Argentina and Brazil because Argentina may pretty much clinch their berth if they beat Brazil today (they theoretically have to get to 32 points but you get my point). Furthermore Brazil has clinched. Both federations would do well to allow their stars in Europe to stay there and just give more playing time to fresher faces in the upcoming qualifiers.