July 12th to 25th, 2021 (World Cup Qualifiers [CONMEBOL])

A Chapter by Steve Clark

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2021.

July 12th to 25th, 2021 (World Cup Qualifiers [CONMEBOL])

World Cup Qualifiers

The fifth and sixth Match Days of World Cup Qualification in CONMEBOL took place this fortnight.

Brazil made three changes to their make up after the draw against Venezuela in March. Ecuador, meanwhile, lost defender Robert Arboleda to injury early in the match. This seemed to rattle the Ecuadorians, and Neymar and Roberto Firmino both scored in the space of two minutes to set up the win. Ecuadorian substitute Jordy Caicedo bicycle-kicked his side back in with a chance, but Brazil held on for a 2-1 victory.

Argentina failed to capitalise on the advantage of defeating Brazil on their soil by playing out a scoreless draw against Bolivia. The Argentinians had missed chances, including hitting the woodwork, and a late chip shot thwarted by the Bolivian goalkeeper. Even the adapted formation during the match did not bring a goal to fruition.

That set up the sixth Match Day with renewed excitement as nations faced off for a second time in the Qualifiers. Venezuela, on the back of their fourth home game in the row, looked to overcome the draw in their previous Bolivian encounter. However, Bolivian produced three goals by the 56th minute, taking full charge of the match. Marcelo Moreno Martins and Juan Arce scored in the first half, both taking advantage of poor defence. Left back Jorge Flores backed that up with a curling shot that defied physics into the back of the net. Venezuela then turned on the gas, scoring first via substitute Cristian Cásseres. Three goals happened in the space of four minutes, first with an unfortunate own goal via Jairo Quinteros. Salomon Rondón then scored soon after the restart, and Cásseres almost carbon-copied his effort. Bolivia would not go down without a fight, with Martins levelling the match at 4-4 in an epic contest.

The Ecuadorians wanted to enact revenge on Argentina for their 2-1 loss at the start of the Qualifiers, while Argentina desired a bounce-back after their home draw to Bolivia. After the first half full of shots blocked, it seemed like a lifeless draw was on the cards. Instead, the same scoreline as Match Day 1 came about, first with Lionel Messi scoring, before Enner Valencia chipped the goalkeeper for an unlikely equaliser. Instead, Argentina’s substitute Lucas Ocampos nailed the winner and created a great position for the Argentinians, while leaving Ecuador in a precarious position still one point behind Brazil. Could the 2018 World Cup participants not qualify for the 2022 version?

	CONMEBOL WCQ Gr A	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	Argentina	5	4	1	0	13	+4
2	Brazil	4	2	1	1	7	+2
3	Ecuador	5	2	0	3	6	+2
4	Venezuela	5	0	3	2	3	-2
5	Bolivia	5	0	3	2	3	-6

World Cup Qualifiers �" Group B

Alexis Sánchez ended his scoring drought with a goal away against Colombia. He was given the ball by the Colombian goalkeeper in the box early in the match and scored with ease. Colombia failed to have a shot in the first half, though the second half improved. However, Charles Aránguiz scored his second goal for the Qualifiers and set up Chile with a solid three points on the road.

Miguel Almirón and substitute Carlos González gifted Paraguay’s crucial win against Peru. Almirón made the most of Paraguay’s only shot of the half, though a small touch from a Peruvian midfielder, Renato Tapia, allowed the ball to drift further away from a diving goalkeeper. Peru could not get their passes on target in the first half. That all changed when Peru scored late using all three substitutes combined to allow Andre Carrillo, Tapia’s replacement, to lead onto a through ball. His chip shot over the Paraguayan goalkeeper was sublime, the ideal amount of touch and finesse. However, Paraguay had other ideas, gaining back the lead as González ran from the left wing ahead of his marking man and powered along the ground into the back of the net.

Sánchez scored early and late for Chile as they made another 2-0 away victory, this time against Peru. The striker homed in two easy goals as Chile ran rings around the Peruvian defence. On the other hand, Chile’s defence remained rock solid with blocks aplenty, as Peru could not find a path to goal, having similar passing and finishing issues as they did against Paraguay.

Meanwhile, Paraguay defeated Uruguay 3-1 in a display of grandeur, as all three forwards put the visitors to the sword. Almirón headed home a corner to make it two goals from two games. Braian Samudio then slotted his left footer into goal with his first touch after he led onto a through ball. Ángel Romero packaged the three points in style, scoring from close range, as if knowing he was about to be substituted. Luis Suárez capped off a solitary consolation goal, although Uruguay should have had at least one more goal as Paraguay’s defence drifted after the three-goal lead.

Chile remain on top, while Colombia must bounce back from their loss to ensure they can defend their World Cup title.