South American Qualifying: Matchday 3

Previews for match-day 4 on Tuesday November 15th will be posted by Sunday.

ARGENTINA vs. BOLIVIA

            Buenos Aires

Referee:            Carlos Vera (ECU)

Assistant #1:     Carlos Herrera (ECU)

Assistant # 2:    Byron Romero (ECU)

4^th Official:        Alfredo Intriago (ECU)

Last time these two faced off in World Cup qualifying, Bolivia humiliated Messi and co. 6-1 in La Paz.  Maradona’s men were thoroughly outplayed and out classed in Bolivia, and they will be out for revenge.  Over the summer, in Copa America, the Bolivian came away with a shock 1-1 draw against the hosts, as they played a cautious game and disciplined game.  They will need the same performance, coupled with a bad outing by the Argentines (not far fetched) to get a positive result.  Argentina comes off a comprehensive loss in Venezuela, and Bolivia disappointed its home crowd in a 2-1 loss to Colombia.  Both come in bad form, and the Argentine’s will likely be without Manchester City ace Kun Aguero, but this will matter little as Argentina has more than enough class to come out with all three points.  Look for Messi to toy with the Bolivian defense and for the game to be in the bag by halftime.

Prediction: Argentina 3 – Bolivia 0

 URUGUAY vs. CHILE

            Montevideo

Referee:            Héctor  Baldassi (ARG)

Assistant #1:     Gustavo Esquivel (ARG)

Assistant #2:     Diego Yamil Bonfa (ARG)

4^th Official:        Néstor Pitana (ARG)

This should have been the game of the day, except for the fact that Chileans Jean Beausejour, Arturo Vidal, Jorge Valdivia, Carlos Carmona and defender Gonzalo Jara have been suspended for the game by their coach.  All five players were cited for showing up to practice in an “unacceptable” state, after the players were out drinking the night before.  Uruguay has been on a roll since the World Cup in South Africa and are currently top of the table in qualifying.  Chile will have a tough time in this game without the suspended players and on the road.  Uruguay should coast through this game and take all three points.

Prediction: Uruguay 2 – Chile 0

COLOMBIA vs. VENEZUELA

            Barranquilla

Referee:              Omar Ponce (ECU)

Assistant #1:     Juan Cedeno (ECU)

Assistant #2:     Christian Lescano (ECU)

4^th Official:        Daniel Salazar (ECU)

This should be the most entertaining of the day.  Both teams come off wins in the last match day.  Colombia took all three points in the altitude of Bolivia and Venezuela pulled off a historic win at home against Argentina.  Colombia will be without start forward Radamel Falcao Garcia, which is a huge blow.  Both teams play an attractive, attacking style, which should make for many scoring opportunities; however Venezuela will come out looking to hold off Colombia before venturing out on the attack.  If  Venezuela can hold off the initial barrage, they should be in good position to get at least a point in this match.

Prediction : Colombia 1 – Venezuela 1 

PARAGUAY vs. ECUADOR

            Asunción

Referee:            José Buitrago (COL)

Assistant #1:     Eduardo Diaz (COL)

Assistant #2:     Wilson Berrio (COL)

4^th Official:        Imer Machado (COL)

 Watching paint dry, watching grass grow, and this game. Luckily for our eyes and sanity, this game will be played at the same time as the Colombia vs Venezuela game.   These are two teams who could very well find themselves shout out of the festivities in Brazil three years from now.  Ecuador has three points thanks to Venezuela sending a “b” team to Ecuador, and Paraguay was outplayed by both Peru and Uruguay, and was lucky to capture a last minute tie at home against the Uruguayans.  Since both teams are not allowed to lose, I give the edge to an Ecuadorian side with more speed and skill than the defensive minded Paraguayans.  A home loss here can be the beginning of the end for Paraguay.

Prediction: Paraguay 0 – Ecuador 1

Feel free to email me at gustavo.escobar10@yahoo.com

World Cup Qualifying

As i watch the Minnesota Vikings try to recover an onside kick (which they did not), I wonder how many things are going on in the sports world. Brady is out for the year, The US Open Finals, the tight division races in MLB, heck even the NASCAR Chase for the Cup are all legitimate sports topics. However, this first post (any many more to come) will be related to soccer. The sport that most Americans do not understand, much less care about. Beckham must be the best player in the world right? No, its that Pele guy! Isn't that a girl sport?.......

Well let us answer those questions real quick: No Becks is not the best player in the world (nor was he ever), Pele is retired (although arguably one of the best to ever grace a soccer field), and no, it is not just a girls sport. For the sake of full disclosure, Leonel Messi is the best player in the world right now.

Let us not digress, this Wednesday will be the 8th round of South American qualifying for the World Cup to be held in South Africa in 2010. It is a simple process: All ten South American nations play each other twice (home and away games). 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie, 0 for a loss. At the end of this two and a half year marathon, the top 4 teams qualify directly to the World Cup. The 5th place team plays a home and away playoff with the 4th place team from CONCACAF (North and Central America, and the Caribbean) for an additional spot in the premier soccer tournament.

The most important match of this round will be played in Santiago, Chile. The host nation will receive a visit from Colombia. Both of these countries are currently tied for fifth place with 10 points. Chile comes off a crushing 3-0 defeat to Brazil on Sunday night at home. Chile will need a better performance from Villareal play-maker Matias Fernandez as well as better finishing from Monterey striker Suazo to have a chance to knock off the Colombians. Although there is no shame in losing to Brazil, losing points at home will not book you a ticket to the big party in 2010. Colombia, likewise, come off a brutal home loss to Uruguay 1-0. The Colombians will rely on play-maker Geovanny Hernandez and River Plate striker Radamel Falcao Garcia to put pressure on a weak Chilean defense. Nothing less than a win will be acceptable for the home team, however, the Colombians would walk away happy with an away draw.

First place Paraguay (14 points) will host 7th place Venezuela (7 points). Paraguay come off an impressive away draw against 10-man Argentina. They will hope to have back from injuries star strikers Roque Santa Cruz and Salvador Cabanas. Venezuela need to recover from a shock loss against then last-place Peru. They will need a better performance from play-makers Arango and Rojas to have any chance of rescuing a point in Paraguay.

In Montevideo, Uruguay (11points) will host Ecuador (8 points) in a battle of teams that will most likely battle for one of the final qualifying spots in this region. Both teams come off impressive wins. Uruguay got a valuable away win at Colombia, while Ecuador disposed of also-ran Bolivia at home.

Peru (6 points) will try to hold on to its fading World Cup chances at home against start studded Argentina (12 points) . Peru comes off their first win of the qualifying campaign against Venezuela. Argentina could only tie at home to Paraguay and will be without the services of goalie Abondazieri, midfielder Macherano and start striker Carlos Tevez. Even so, Peru would be well served if they can hold Argentina to a tie, thus keeping their hopes alive.

In the last game of this round, 5-time world champion Brazil (12 points) will host last place Bolivia (4 points) Brazil easily disposed of Chile on Sunday night and should have no problem doing the same to Bolivia. Ronaldihno, Robinho, Diego, etc., will be too much to handle for a Bolivia side that will be hoping that the game ends as soon as humanly possible.

PREDICTIONS:

Brazil 5 - Bolivia 0
Chile 2 - Colombia 1
Peru 1 - Argentina 1
Uruguay 1 - Ecuador 2
Paraguay 3 - Venezuela 1