World Cup 2010 Qualifying: How We Stand in CONMEBOL

Just my personal opinion, but CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying is always the most interesting of all the regions. All ten teams in one big group, playing each other home and away. Everyone wants to beat each other and everyone especially wants to beat Brazil and Argentina. The top four qualify for World Cup 2010 glory, while the fifth team plays off against a CONCACAF nation over two legs. So it usually comes down to the wire. The first four games of CONMEBOL World Cup 2010 Qualifying are in the books, and you might be surprised to learn who’s top. Brazil? Argentina? No and no. It’s Paraguay, and they’ll stay on top until qualification resumes next June.

Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Colombia on Tuesday meant they were likely to give up top spot when everyone else played Wednesday. And it was Paraguay who leapfrogged them, with a surgical 3-0 win in Chile. Backed by a crowd of 60,000 Chile had more possession, more shots on goal and more corners than their visitors. But there’s only one stat that matters, and Paraguay scored three times, one goal from Salvador Cabañas and two from Paulo Da Silva. Video below:

That win puts Paraguay top with 10 points, Argentina second on nine points and Brazil third on eight points after being lucky to beat Urugauy 2-1. Uruguay took the lead in Sao Paulo through Sebastián Abreu after just nine minutes, and had all kinds of chances to kill off the game. But Brazil keeper Julio Cesar kept them out while Luis Fabiano scored twice at the other end, sneaking one inside the near post from an impossibly tight angle for the equaliser and being left unmarked at the backpost for the winner. Video below:

Colombia are in fourth following the win over Argentina, and 2007 Copa America hosts Venezuela fifth after an action packed 5-3 win over Bolivia on Tuesday. Video below:

Uruguay’s unlucky defeat leaves them just outside the qualification spots in 6th place, but I’m pulling for them to make it as they’re such a historically significant football team.

Down the bottom, Chile are in 7th after that 3-0 defeat, managerless Ecudaor beat Peru (who had held Brazil 1-1 on Saturday) 5-1, lifting them to 8th and dropping Peru to 9th, while poor old Bolivia sit in last place with just one point from four games.

The complete and up to date table can be found here.

It all gets going again with another two rounds next summer, on June 14th and 18th 2008. Games to look out for include Paraguay hosting Brazil on the 14th, which should be a test for both teams, and then the granddaddy of them all - Brazil vs Argentina - on the 18th.