He shouldn't be in at all, I wrote in earlier posts about him, bad coach. He caught some assisting positions in bigger clubs, but that is all.
Pretty well contested game. Uruguay with a bit of an edge but after 1st half weren't really creating any chances before the red card.
Scoring the 1st goal definitely made things easier for us. That's how it goes sometimes. The red card helps Argentina more than Brazil to be honest.
Looks like we're back to our reality. Peru haven't been awful here, but this is the best I've seen Argentina play in Lima in recent times.
I'm surprised by that result. but I figured Suarez would be playing. It changes things when he is not on the pitch... having said that, Uruguay should have performed better just the same. Credit to Brazil though.
Ok I'm bored and have time to kill... Having watched the first round of matches I feel pretty confident in giving Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador the first 3 spots, in that order as well. I know I said the same thing last time about Ecuador, but I feel there's no way Ecuador are gonna drop the ball twice in a row. They know what they are playing at, and they do it well. Nothing fancy. Even if they underperform away from home, Quito is their castle and they can abuse anyone up there. I think Uruguay is also gonna make it eventually when they get their whole gang back together, maybe even in 5th. Then there's a big drop in quality IMO. Paraguay, Chile, Peru and Colombia will be fighting as to who is LESS shit. At the start of the qualifiers I figured Colombia had an edge in terms of pure numbers of Colombians playing abroad and I had them as favourites to get that 5th spot. But I guess numbers don't matter as much if all the players are equally mediocre. Paraguay puts their money on defence and grinding results, which results in a lot of draws, unfortunately for them it is preferable to lose and win, rather than draw twice in a row. In league format, winning is rewarded considerably more than not losing. In a cup you can (and Paraguay have) gone all the way to the final without winning a single match in regular time. Draws at home against Peru and Bolivia are painful and will cost them dearly, they will also not be the last. The fact that they are better than their rivals at getting draws away from home is not gonna help them if they can't get all 3 in Asuncion. I know Chile will not finish these qualifiers with Rueda in charge. Chile plays with the energy of a team that is already qualified, apart from the usual veterans, there is no fire in them. You could excuse it in older players, but what about the younger ones? They need an energetic coach, someone that can kick them into action. Rueda is not the man for this, in fact he is the opposite, he even looks like a vampire. The only reason we are still in this, is because of some key veterans (Vidal in particular) dragging the rest. But I see no solid overlying tactical structure. Time is up. We play Paraguay in Santiago who could easily beat us or get a draw and then away at Quito where we'll get the same treatment Uruguay and Colombia received. A 4-0 defeat is not out of the question and we could finish with 0 points that round, enough to finally kick Rueda and get someone competent. It's not too late to get a new manager and give these qualifiers a real go. I think the worse thing for us would be to squeeze out two draws keep Rueda. Personally, I don't think Rueda will survive post-Quito match. Peru is similar to Chile. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. You never know which Peru you are going to get. They don't have a Vidal to get them out of trouble in a shitty match so it's even more important for them to play like every match is their last. All in all, these 4 teams blow hot and cold. And if any of them think they have a chance of qualifying, it is precisely because the other 4 are also shit. I don't think Venezuela and Bolivia have a chance. Yes, I am aware Peru are lower than Venezuela but I actually rate Peru's players higher. We will find out soon enough when they meet each other.
There's a logical problem with that post: if you see a big drop after the top four (Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay), then it makes no sense that you see Uruguay ending 5th. The way I see it, Brazil and Argentina are looking the class in the region, what those outside South America expect (but is not always the case). Colombia can recover with a good manager. Paraguay and Bolivia don't have much. Venezuela is severely underrated. Peru and Chile are about even, but weaker than before. So my prediction is: Brazil Argentina ------------drop Colombia Ecuador Uruguay Venezuela ------------drop Peru Chile Paraguay Bolivia
Some brilliant quotes from my preview post: URUvBRA: "without Neymar and Casemiro this is a big chance for Uruguay to snatch a win from the brazucas after a long time." ECUvCOL: "Colombia is a good altitude visitor" PARvBOL: "It's a training session for Paraguay" PERvARG: "Our defense will be tested" "will be a high scoring game" I better don't comment here anymore
Historically they get it together towards the end, and I don't base it on history alone but the players at their disposal, the teams they play for and the minutes they get. But they also drag their feet to get there and drop more points than they should. That's why I think one of the shittier teams could overtake them. But on a knock-out match, life or death type of situation, I'd take Uruguay over any of the other four right now. Of course most of those teams could all hypothetically improve with a new manager. But I can only comment on what I see in front of me, and I see a big gap. Maybe the next managers will be worse. There is already talk that Rueda will be out the door after the results next round against Paraguay and Ecuador. He could easily get 0 points from that. I think Venezuela played their absolute best and got their very first 3 points against a Chile that by your own admission is only better than Bolivia and Paraguay (who beat Venezuela in their own stadium). I don't think they have chance no matter who they get as a manager. I fear everyone else except Bolivia and maybe Peru will play better than us and get some points from Venezuela. Paraguay will always be Paraguay and they will play the same no matter who is the manager. They will get away draws and victories where their direct rivals will fail to do so, but they will also draw at home to the likes of Peru and Bolivia negating all the good work they do away from home.
With the addition today of Brian Rodriguez and Gabriel Neves the COVID-19 positive test list in Uruguay’s delegation is up to 15.
On the plus side Uruguay is getting all their infections out early. I know there's no guarantee you can't get covid-19 again, but it definitely makes it harder.
World Soccer Talk @worldsoccertalk 30m BREAKING: fuboTV has acquired the English and Spanish-language streaming rights to the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers
I'm done trying to predict Ecuador. They looked unbeatable up in Quito... they played Peru who was dead last and playing poorly... somehow manage to be losing 1-2 as I type this...