Lionel Messi
and Argentina’s hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup were left hanging in the
balance on Thursday after another stalemate on a nail-biting day of South
American qualifying action.
Argentina
were held to a 0-0 draw in Buenos Aires by Peru, leaving the two-time world
champions outside the automatic qualification places as they head into the
final round of fixtures next Tuesday.
It was
another desperately disappointing display by Argentina, who once again
struggled to turn a wealth of possession into goals.
Barcelona
star Messi hit the post in the second half but could only watch in frustration
after serving up a stream of chances for team-mates who failed to convert.
The result
left Argentina in sixth place in the standings. The first four teams qualify
automatically, with the fifth-placed team advancing to a playoff against New
Zealand in November.
But with
only two points separating third-placed Chile and seventh-placed Paraguay, the
final standings could change dramatically depending on results on Tuesday.
The margin
for error for Argentina, however, has narrowed after their latest setback,
their third consecutive draw of a faltering qualification campaign.
Argentina’s
final qualifier is a challenging away trip to Ecuador in the thin air of Quito.
Argentina have a poor record in the Ecuadoran capital, losing two out of three
of their last World Cup qualifiers there and drawing the other. The Argentines’
last World Cup qualifying win in Quito came in 2001.
However a
victory on Tuesday would guarantee Argentina at least fifth place in the
standings, with Peru and Colombia guaranteed to drop points against each other
in their final game.
Uruguay on
brink, Colombia crash
Brazil, who
have already qualified in first place, were held to a 0-0 draw by eliminated
Bolivia in La Paz earlier Thursday.
That left
the focus on the teams jostling behind the five time champions for the three
remaining automatic spots.
Uruguay, who
are second with 28 points from 17 games, missed the chance to book their place
in Russia after being frustrated 0-0 away at Venezuela.
Uruguay’s
Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani squandered a golden chance to win
the game but shot wide in the 83rd minute.
The
Uruguayans are all but assured of qualification however, needing only a draw or
a win against lowly Bolivia in Montevideo next week to book their place.
South
American champions Chile, meanwhile, resurrected their qualification hopes with
a thrilling 2-1 win over Ecuador in Santiago.
Striker
Eduardo Vargas drilled in a low shot on 22 minutes to put the 2015 & 2016 Copa
America champions 1-0 up.
But Alex
Ibarra equalised in the 82nd minute for Ecuador to silence the home crowd.
But with
Chile’s fans still struggling to digest Ibarra’s strike, the hosts went back up
the other end and Arsenal star rammed home a close-range finish after Arturo
Vidal’s shot was only partially saved.
The win saw
Chile climb from sixth to third in the standings. Chile will qualify
automatically if they are able to beat Brazil in their final game next week.
In
Barranquilla, Colombia threw away what looked to be a certain victory that
would have put them within touching distance of qualification as they crashed
to a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay.
Radamel
Falcao scored with a deft lob to put Colombia 1-0 ahead in the 79th minute.
But the
Colombians inexplicably continued to press forward and were twice caught on the
break by Paraguay.
Oscar
Cardozo bundled in the equaliser for Paraguay in the 89th minute and then Tony
Sanabria punished poor goalkeeping by David Ospina to poke in a second in injury
time to clinch the win.
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