This was a rather interesting round in Conmebol WCQ. Two managers making their debut; a records holding player on his farewell game for his country; a player scoring a brace and leading his team to a landmark victory, with his father, recently released from captivity, watching from the stands; and the Unofficial Football World Championship changing hands at the continent's oldest derby. Not bad for a Thursday, I'd say.
Bolivia 2-0 Peru
One cycle closed and another one began on this match, at Estadio Hernando Siles, in La Paz. This was Marcelo Moreno's 106th and last game for Bolivia.
He is the holder of the records of most appearances and most goals too (31) wearing La Verde, on an international career that began on September 12th, 2007, in a friendly also against Peru.
On the other hand, this was also the debut of Antonio Carlos Zago as manager
of Bolivia. A successful defender on his club days, always on the periphery
of the Brazilian national team (he was called up for two Copa Americas, 1993 and 1999, and a handful of WCQ's), his managerial career is a bit all over
the place, with a couple of big clubs here and there, but overall peppered with journeyman sides. This is his first experience with a national team.
And it seemed to start off with the right foot. Goals by Henry Vaca (19th minute) and Ramiro Vaca (87th) finished off a poor Peruvian side, which is
yet to even score in this qualifying cycle.
Venezuela 0-0 Ecuador
Not a very rocking game at Estadio Monumental de Maturín, as Venezuela and Ecuador hold each other to a goalless draw. A bit of an even game from what
I could grasp from highlights. Another manager had his debut on this game
too, Felix Sanchez, who was manager of Qatar in World Cup 2022 and is now
at Ecuador's helm.
Colombia 2-1 Brasil
An eventful night at Estadio Metropolitano de Barranquilla, as Colombia pulls off its first ever win over Brasil in a World Cup Qualifier (and 4th in the overall record, the others having been in 1985, 1991 and 2015). This was also the first time Brasil ever lost two WCQ's in a row.
Brasil seemed to start off in full throttle and, on an assist by Vinicius Junior, Martinelli scored the opener in the 3rd minute. But Colombia steadily built its way back into the match and soon was the better side on the pitch. Alisson made a handful of good saves to keep Brasil's advantage, but Luis Diaz's
brace, in the 74th and 78th minutes, sealed the comeback and gave Colombia its deserved win.
These days have been a rollercoaster ride for Luis Diaz. His father, Mane Diaz, had been kidnapped and was released about a week ago, in time to go
to the stadium and watch his son lead his team to a historic victory over Brasil.
Argentina 0-2 Uruguay
A clinical performance by Uruguay at La Bombonera, in Buenos Aires, that
was successful in shutting off Argentina. In the 41st minute, Viña and
Molina exchanged successive challenges against each other down the left
wing. Viña eventually prevailed and found the space to cross into the
penalty area, for a successful finish by Ronald Araujo. And at the end of
the game, as Messi tried to dribble his way through the Celeste defense,
he was disarmed and, three touches later, Darwin Nuñez pulled the counter attack, outpacing Otamendi down the pitch. Then, mano-a-mano with Martínez, he first faked a shot and then fired it under the keeper's legs to finish
off the hosts.
Argentina didn't create as many chances as they usually do. They did come close to equalizing on a free kick by Messi, which hit the bar at Rochet's upper left corner. Argentina had a couple more opportunities, but the Uruguayan keeper was there to stop them.
Some landmarks here as well: This was Lionel Scaloni's first ever WCQ loss
as Argentina manager, as well as Uruguay's first ever WCQ victory over Argentina as visitors. Overall, this was Argentina's 5th ever WCQ home loss.
Also, it appears that with this result, Uruguay are now the holders of the Unofficial Football World Championship.
https://www.ufwc.co.uk/
The site's last update was the 2022 World Cup final, but this was Argentina's first loss since. Their (UFWC) twitter profile, though, shared the news, which I thought might be of interest to rss.
Chile 0-0 Paraguay
Honours even at Estadio Monumental de Santiago. A fair result, as both teams created some scoring chances, but failed to capitalize on them. Paraguay had Robert Rojas being sent off at the end of the first half, thus opening space for Chile to make most of the play in the second. However, they didn't make
it count and even saw Victor Mendez earn a red card as well in the end of the game. A frustrating result for both sides, neither of which seemed to deserve better.
Table [points, games, w-d-l, gs-gc, gd, (mi = media inglese)]
1 Argentina 12 5 4 0 1 7-2 7+ (mi = +1)
2 Uruguay 10 5 3 1 1 10-5 5+ (mi = +1)
3 Colombia 9 5 2 3 0 5-3 2+ (mi = -2)
4 Venezuela 8 5 2 2 1 5-2 3+ (mi = -3)
5 Brasil 7 5 2 1 2 8-6 2+ (mi = -2)
6 Ecuador 5 5 2 2 1 4-3 1+ (mi = -1) (-3 points penalty) -----------------------------
7 Paraguay 5 5 1 2 2 1-2 1- (mi = -4)
-----------------------------
8 Chile 5 5 1 2 2 3-6 3- (mi -6)
9 Bolivia 3 5 1 0 4 4-11 7- (mi -8)
10 Peru 1 5 0 1 4 0-7 7- (mi -8)
Next round to be played on November 21st. In brackets below, the results of these games in the WCQ cycles of 2022/2018/2014/2010/2006/2002/1998 (all the round robin ones so far):
Paraguay - Colombia (1-1, 0-1, 1-2, 0-2, 0-1, 0-4, 2-1)
Past results make this one look predictable enough: Paraguay's last home win over Colombia was in the 20th century. And although three of Colombia's wins since were meaningless Round 18 clashes, that wasn't the case with the more recent ones. Plus, Colombia is the only unbeaten team remaining in this cycle, and are coming from a morale boosting victory over Brasil, while Paraguay is as mediocre as they've been for a while. I don't see a blowout at Defensores del Chaco, in Asuncion, but Colombia could definitely pull a 0-1 win. In soph-terms: Paraguay 0.20, draw 0.30, Colombia 0.50.
Uruguay - Bolivia (4-2, 4-2, 4-2, 5-0, 5-0, 1-0, 1-0)
Uruguay is on a roll, coming from two victories over their two main rivals
and facing the continent's weakest team (and historical weakest visitor) at
El Centenario, Montevideo. Can't envision anything other than a Celeste victory
on this one, say, 3-0. In soph-terms: Uruguay 0.95, draw 0.05, Bolivia zero.
Ecuador - Chile (0-0, 3-0, 3-1, 1-0, 2-0, 1-0, 1-1)
Ecuador has the better side and plays at the altitude of Quito, in Estadio
Casa Blanca. They're on a decent run, indeed they'd be ahead of Brasil if
not for the points penalty. Chile has been poor, might pull out a brave display,
but I think this is Ecuador's to lose. I'll call a 2-0 win for the hosts. In soph-terms: Ecuador 0.60, draw 0.30, Chile 0.10.
Brasil - Argentina (n/a, 3-0, n/a, 0-0, 3-1, 3-1, n/a)
An interesting, up for grabs Superclasico at Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro. Brasil has never lost a home WCQ game, but they've been sailing through troubled waters
in this cycle, coming from an unprecedented two losses in a row, missing Neymar
and Casemiro and playing really unconvincing football. This is a huge contrast to their rivals, who are incumbent world and continental champions, have a motivated all-time great playing as their #10 and are in great form and with lots of confidence.
I don't think I can remember a Brasil vs Argentina in which the scales ever seemed so tipped in Argentina's favor. Plus, their 2021 victory at Maracanã not only did wonders to boost the albiceleste's confidence on their path towards World Cup success; it also means they now know that Brasil vs Argentina,
in Brasil, no longer needs to be a win for the hosts or a draw. They achieved their dream of lifting a trophy at Maracanã, and now smell the opportunity to break Brasil's historical WCQ home invincibility.
So, it would seem Brasil's record is at real risk now, there's a lot at stake from the historic rivalry's point of view. The only thing that remains to be seen is how Argentina will react to the sucker punch they just took from their neighbors across Rio de la Plata, which I think might be a mere a bump on the road. Still, a derby is a derby is a derby, who knows what is to come. I'll call
it a 1-1 draw, with a slight edge to the visitors. In soph-terms: Brasil 0.30, draw 0.35, Argentina 0.35.
Peru - Venezuela (1-0, 2-2, 2-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0, 4-1)
Usually Peru would have the edge on this one. But they've been so poor so far, while Venezuela has actually been decent. Venezuela's last away victory was against Paraguay, in Round 18 of WC 2018's qualifying cycle. Since then, their WCQ away record is 11 games, 10 losses and 1 draw (against Brasil last month...).
Regardless, I think we might see the visitors walking off from this one with the three points. My call for this one is Peru 0-1 Venezuela. In soph-terms: Peru 0.25, draw 0.35, Venezuela 0.40.
Best regards,
Lléo
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