The World Cup 2022 qualifying picture in South America is starting to take shape, with a handful of countries still fighting for the two spots behind Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador.
Luis Suarez and Uruguay are suddenly in the driver’s seat for the coveted fourth and final automatic qualifying spot after their big win over Venezuela, coupled with a Peru draw, saw them jump to fourth.
Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez kept Chile’s chances of going to Qatar alive with a brace against Bolivia as they continue fight it out with Peru and struggling Colombia for fifth spot and a play-off berth.
Brazil and Argentina are already assured of their place in Qatar, but they keep winning anyway despite the absence of their PSG stars, Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down the top takeaways from third-to-last matchday of the South American World Cup 2022 qualifying tournament.
Uruguay new favourite for fourth after victory over Venezuela
Uruguay put in arguably their best performance of this qualifying campaign as they thrashed bottom-side Venezuela 4-1 to give new head coach Diego Alonso two wins from his first two games in charge.
Tottenham new boy Rodrigo Bentancur got La Celeste off to a dream start by scoring in the opening minute, and Giorgian de Arrascaeta made it two on 23 minutes. Veteran strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez then got into the act with goals of their own to seal the win.
But it was Manchester United youngster Facundo Pellistri who stole the show as he brilliantly set up one goal and drew the penalty which led to another.
The victory was huge for Uruguay as they have now moved to the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot after Peru’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador.
La Celeste’s last two qualifying games in March will be against their direct rivals for that fourth spot. They take on Peru in Montevideo, then travel to Santiago to take on Chile in the qualifying finale.
Alexis brace gives Chile a fighting chance
Chile’s chances of qualifying for their third straight World Cup are still very much alive after their 3-2 win over Bolivia. Alexis Sanchez bagged a brace to lead La Roja to the much-needed victory.
The 33-year-old Sanchez, who now has 48 career international goals in 146 caps (both Chilean records), finally ended his lengthy goal drought for his country. His last goal came back in June 2021 and the one before that came in October 2020. Alexis has also been playing quite well for Inter this season and has four goals over his last eight appearances.
But even with Chile’s win over Bolivia, their World Cup 2022 odds of qualifying are not great. They remain three points behind Uruguay for the fourth automatic qualifying spot and have two very tough final qualifying games against Brazil away and against Uruguay at home.
But if Sanchez can continue the fine form he’s shown of late into March for the final two qualifiers, then La Roja should still have a fighting chance of making it to Qatar.
Raphinha shines, Vinicius fails to impress for Brazil
Leaders Brazil bounced back from their 1-1 draw with Ecuador as they thrashed second-from-bottom Paraguay 4-0 at home. It was a dominant performance from the mostly second-string Selecao, as Raphinha, Philippe Coutinho, Antony, and Rodrygo got the goals in the absence of injured star Neymar.
Raphinha produced more World Cup 2022 highlights as he tries to earn his way into the squad for Qatar. The Leeds winger has now scored three international goals in seven appearances in qualifying, all of which have come within the last six months.
Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr had another disappointing showing. The Real Madrid man did not get a single shot off in the two games against Ecuador and Paraguay and was also subbed off on in both matches. He has now appeared in 11 games for his country and has yet to score a goal.
Clearly, Vinicius is having a more impressive club campaign than Raphinha, with 15 goals and 8 assists already for Real, who are favourites to reclaim the La Liga title.
But Raphinha’s sudden rise has strengthened his chances of making the World Cup 2022 squad, so Vini Jr will have to step up his game with the Selecao and prove to Tite that he is deserving of a spot in the side.
Lautaro steps up again for Argentina in Messi’s absence
Lautaro Martinez once again stepped up for Argentina as he scored the lone goal in their 1-0 win against Colombia. La Albiceleste went a perfect two for two in the latest round of World Cup 2022 qualifying matches despite missing superstar Lionel Messi.
Lautaro, who also got the winner in Argentina’s 2-1 win away to Chile, has been in fantastic goalscoring form for his country. He has now scored seven goals in qualifying (tied for second along with Neymar and Luis Suarez) and has eight goals in his last 12 international appearances.
Lautaro’s continued ascent bodes very well for Argentina heading into the World Cup. With Messi getting up in age, Lautaro gives the team another top-class striker capable of getting the goals they need to make a deep run in Qatar.
Colombia in serious danger of crashing out
While Ecuador are now secured a top-five spot, Colombia are in serious danger of failing to make the World Cup. Los Cafeteros, who made the quarter-finals back in 2014, suffered a 1-0 defeat to Messi-less Argentina, pushing their disastrous winless run in qualifying to seven games (4 draws, 3 defeats, 0 goals scored).
Seventh-placed Colombia are four points adrift of fifth-placed Peru for the play-off spot, and while they face strugglers Bolivia and Venezuela in their last two games, they need other teams to falter to stand any chance of making it.
So despite all the talent at their disposal – James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, Davinson Sanchez, Radamel Falcao and Liverpool new boy Luis Diaz – Colombia could very well be out of contention for Qatar when it’s all said and done.
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