Pressure on Argentina, Brazil as quintet strive for six - SOUTH AMERICA
 |
| Getty Images |
After both fell to defeat on the opening day of South American qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, continental heavyweights Brazil and Argentina are looking to atone on their second outing. Victorious in their first games, meanwhile, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile will be out to maintain their early momentum, with the first two facing off in an intriguing encounter. FIFA.com sets the scene for Matchday 2 in the CONMEBOL Zone.
The big game
Uruguay-Colombia
La Celeste kicked off their campaign with a first-ever qualifying win in Bolivia, a welcome success that will have done their confidence no harm as they strive to open up a gap on their rivals in the table. That said, coach Oscar Tabarez does have problems to contend with. In addition to the continuing absence of strike duo Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, El Maestro now has to find a replacement for the experienced Egidio Arevalo Rios.
Colombia also got off to a winning start, albeit with a slightly lacklustre display at home to Peru, and will be anxious to impress in a fixture that always has an edge to it. Memories are still fresh of their last meeting in the Round of 16 at Brazil 2014, when Jose Pekerman’s side prevailed courtesy of a brace from James Rodriguez, who will sit out this latest encounter.
Elsewhere
Riding high after their ground-breaking victory in Buenos Aires last week, Ecuador are aware of the need to back up that performance when they take on Bolivia at the Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa in Quito. “We know we have to take these three points. If we don’t, the win against Argentina won’t have counted for anything,” commented Christian Noboa, expressing the thoughts of the Tri squad. Currently in the midst of a transitional phase, La Verde have embarked on the race for places at Russia 2018 with a clutch of new faces. Though defeat at home to Uruguay was blow, coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso has vowed that his players are “hungry for revenge”.
Paraguay will need little motivating in attempting to make it two wins out of two when they entertain Argentina. Beaten 6-1 by La Albiceleste in the semi-finals of the recent Copa America, Ramon Diaz’s Guaraníes will be confident of avenging that scoreline following their promising 1-0 win away to Venezuela on Matchday 1. Confidence is in short supply in the Argentina camp, however. Denied the services of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero through injury and of Ezequiel Garay for personal reasons, the Brazil 2014 runners-up are feeling the pressure in the aftermath of their defeat to Ecuador at the Monumental and need to get their qualification bid up and running.
Fellow big guns Brazil find themselves in a similar position. The five-time world champions disappointed at the Copa America and last week fell to Chile in their first qualifier in six years, a match in which the suspended Neymar was sorely missed. The Brazilians will need to improve for the visit of Venezuela, as midfielder Willian acknowledged: “A 1-0 win is a good result for us and we just want the three points. Nothing is easy in football these days and all teams are well coached.” While La Vinotinto have never won a preliminaries match in Brazil and went down to Paraguay in their opening game, they are determined to kick-start their campaign by making a little piece of history.
Finally, Peru and Chile meet in the latest edition of the Clásico del Pacífico, a long-running fixture in which honours have been fairly even over the years, though Los Incas have the edge when it comes to hosting their old rivals. Ricardo Gareca’s men lost out to Colombia in their opener and will be anxious to open their account sooner rather than later. On a high after lifting the Copa America and then putting Brazil to the sword, La Roja will again be at full strength as they bid to end the day atop the table.
Player to watch
Derlis Gonzalez (Paraguay)
Much to the delight of Albirroja coach Ramon Diaz, the young striker has confirmed the rich promise he showed at junior level. Having proved worthy of the No10 jersey at this year’s Copa America, Derlis followed up by scoring the goal in Venezuela that gave his side the perfect start to their Russia 2018 bid.
Did you know?
Venezuela have never won or even scored a goal in a World Cup qualifier in Brazil, losing 13 of the 14 preliminary matches they have contested in the country and drawing the other.
What they said
“I have a lot of faith in the team and if I were a fan, I’d go out of my way to watch this game. Paraguay are going to take the fight to Argentina till the very last second and let them know just how hard it is to play a qualifier. People can make you the favourites if they want, but in a tournament like this every single point counts,” Paraguay coach Ramon Diaz.
Matchday 2 fixtures:
13 October
Ecuador-Bolivia
Uruguay-Colombia
Paraguay-Argentina
Brazil -Venezuela
Peru-Chile