Lléo wrote:
Table [points, games, w-d-l, gs-gc, gd, (mi = media inglese)]
1 Argentina 19 9 6 1 2 13-5 8+ (mi = +2)
2 Colombia 16 9 4 4 1 9-6 3+ (mi = -1)
3 Uruguay 15 9 4 3 2 13-6 7+ (mi = -2)
4 Brasil 13 9 4 1 4 11-9 2+ (mi = -4)
5 Ecuador 12 9 4 3 2 6-4 2+ (mi = -4) (-3 points penalty)
6 Bolivia 12 9 4 0 5 11-15 4- (mi = -7) ----------------------------------------------
7 Venezuela 11 9 2 5 2 7-8 1- (mi = -8) ----------------------------------------------
8 Paraguay 10 9 2 4 3 2-3 1- (mi = -7)
9 Peru 6 9 1 3 5 3-10 7- (mi =-13)
10 Chile 5 9 1 2 6 5-14 9- (mi =-14)
Next round to be played on October 15th. 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)
Colombia - Chile (3-1, 0-0, 3-3, 2-4, 1-1, 3-1, 4-1). Matchday 2: CHI
0-0 COL
Doesn't seem to be a hard one to call at all. This is a good
Colombian side facing what is possibly the worst Chilean team I've
ever seen. Football is football, but at Estadio Metropolitano de Barranquilla, the hosts clearly should have the upper hand. I'll call
a 2-0 win for Colombia (in soph-terms: Colombia 0.80, draw 0.10,
Chile 0.10).
Col 2 Chi 0
Paraguay - Venezuela (2-1, 0-1, 0-2, 2-0, 1-0, 3-0, 1-0). Matchday 2:
VEN 1-0 PAR
But this seems to be a close one. Games involving Paraguay already
tend to be low-scoring all around (after nine rounds, it's two goals
scored and three conceded). On paper Venezuela seems to be a better
side, even if not by much really, but they've been stuttering for a
while. At Defensores del Chaco, in Asunción, I guess the crowd should
tip the scales a little towards the hosts. Anyway, let's say Paraguay
1-0 Venezuela (in soph-terms: Paraguay 0.40, draw 0.30, Venezuela
0.30).
Par 1 Ven 1
Uruguay - Ecuador (1-0, 2-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0, 4-0, 5-3). Matchday 2:
ECU 2-1 URU
Uruguay seems to have a number of issues to sort out between their
manager and their players, and under this divide they performed
poorly against the bottom-placed side. They now face Ecuador who are
a much more dangerous opponent than Peru. The home factor may help La Celeste: Ecuador has never beaten Uruguay at Estadio Centenario (or
anywhere else in Uruguay, for that matter). I think that they won't
do it this time either, but it should be close. I'll make it an 1-1
draw (in soph-terms: Uruguay 0.40, draw 0.30, Ecuador 0.30).
Uru 0 Ecu 0
Argentina - Bolivia (3-0, 2-0, 1-1, 3-0, 3-0, 1-0, 3-1). Matchday 2:
BOL 0-3 ARG
Bolivia may be on a bit of a hot streak, yes, but I guess taking on
Argentina at Estadio Monumental de Nuñez, in Buenos Aires, is a whole
lot too much to ask for. I guess Argentina shouldn't have much
trouble with this one. I'd predict Argentina 3-0 Bolivia (in
soph-terms: Argentina 1, draw 0, Bolivia 0).
Arg 3 Bol 0
Brasil - Peru (2-0, 3-0, n/a, 3-0, 1-0, 1-1, n/a). Matchday 2: PER
0-1 BRA
I've repeatedly used the adjective "uninspiring" to refer to this
version of the Brazilian national team, though, to be fair, they've
been struggling with injuries more than usual and this is a very
revamped squad, compared the last World Cup one. Meanwhile, Peru also
seems to have its own problems to deal with, apart from the very poor
run thus far. At Estádio Mané Garrincha, in Brasília, Brasil should prevail, even if it takes a bit of a struggle (as has been the norm
lately). I'll call Brasil 2-0 Peru (in soph-terms: Brasil 0.90, draw
0.05, Peru 0.05).
Bra 3 Per 1
Best regards,
Lléo
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