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7:15
A draw and four wins leave the Qualifiers open for the last dates
Date 16 of the South American Qualifiers took place this Tuesday, where the 10 teams of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) faced each other in five matches, making it a long day that lasted until midnight in the time of several countries.
It should be noted that only Brazil and Argentina are qualified for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, however, there is only a four-point difference between the third and fifth positions, which means that everything will be defined on dates 17 and 18, which are the last ones.
Bolivia vs Chile
This match took place at the Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz and was officiated by Venezuelan referee Alexis Herrera. It should be noted that both teams lost on date 15. Bolivia was defeated by Venezuela and Chile lost at home to Argentina.
The visitors had the initiative in the rival area at the beginning. The scoreboard was opened thanks to Alexis Sánchez who in the minute 14, took a free kick and fired a strong shot that went to the back of the net, although with some complicity from the Bolivian goalkeeper.
At minute 37, Enoumba would tie the game for the hosts when he headed a ball that came from a corner kick. From that moment on, Bolivia controlled the game more and began to generate dangerous plays in the area of 'La Roja'.
In this way they would go to rest and in the second half the chances would be given from part to part. Both goalkeepers would have a lot of activity until the 77th minute, when Alexis Sánchez would center a ball on the right side of the area, Isla would receive it and give it to Núñez who scored low and to the center. 1-2 partial.
At 85', Alexis Sánchez, who was undoubtedly the best player of the match, also received a pass at the edge of the area and dribbled past several Bolivian defenders until he ended up scoring low and crossing the goalkeeper's far post. 1-3 partial.
But the locals closed the gap at minute 88, when Martins Moreno headed in a cross that Vaca gave him from the right and the striker crossed it past the goalkeeper. 2-3 final. With this victory, Chile manages to reach position six with 19 points, while Bolivia has 15 points and is in eighth position.
Uruguay vs Venezuela
The Centenario Stadium in Montevideo was the chosen setting where this match would take place, which would be refereed by the Brazilian Bruno Arleu. Both teams won on date 15, Uruguay beat Paraguay 0-1, while Venezuela beat Bolivia 4-1 at home, in José Pekerman's debut.
The match started with a lot of action in favor of the locals, as in the firts minute, Cavani would escape from the right and take a center, whose defense clearance was in front of the area, and Rodrigo Bentancur, took a powerful shot that goalkeeper Fariñez failed to stop.
Uruguay dominated the match and 'La Vinotinto' resisted the attacks of the sky-blue team as best they could. At 23', Facundo Pellistri entered the rival area from the right, managing to reach the bottom line near the area defended by Wilker Fariñez, dribbling past three Venezuelan defenders and passing it to Arrascaeta, who only had to push it in. This is how he made it 2-0.
The group led by Diego Alonso would not stop attacking and at 45+1', with a counterattack that started with a shot by Luis Suárez, was deflected by a visiting defender, and then Arrascaeta, remaining hand in hand with Fariñez, preferred to give it to his teammate, in this case Cavani who in an acrobatic way decides to score the 3-0 as 'Bicycle Kick' and thus they would go to rest.
Starting the second half, Pellistri would again arrive dangerously from the right of the area, but the defender Ferraresi would knock him down. The referee signaled a goal kick at the beginning, but when reviewing it in the VAR, he awarded a penalty in favor of Uruguay. Luis Suárez took the kick and Fariñez stopped him, but the referee sent him to repeat and scored the fourth at 53'.
'La Vinotinto' scored through Josef Martínez, who took the opportunity after a mistake by Giménez to score the final 4-1. In this way, Uruguay manages to reach 22 points and is in fourth position. Venezuela is tenth with 10 units.
Argentina vs Colombia
This match was held at the Mario Kempes stadium in Córdoba and the referee was the Brazilian Raphael Claus. Until this match, the Argentines beat Chile on date 15, but Colombia was defeated by Peru.
On this occasion the locals won with a single goal from Lautaro Martínez in the 29th minute. The play was made through a center from the left, Lautaro controlled and took a powerful shot down. Final 1-0.
Both goalkeepers had constant work taking out the attacks of Di María and other Argentine forwards on one side, and Luis Díaz, Cuadrado and others. However, the match would end in victory for the locals.
With this result, Argentina reaches 35 units and is second, four points behind Brazil, while Colombia, with only 17 points, is further and further away from the World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil vs Paraguay
The venue chosen for this match was the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte and the Argentine Facundo Tello was the responsible referee. The locals had just drawn against Ecuador on the previous date, however, Paraguay lost at home to Uruguay.
Brazil dominated the entire match, except for some moments of Paraguay. At minute 2, Raphinha scored a goal that the VAR annulled for using his hand in the play. But the same player scored the first goal at 28', wonderfully controlling a great pass from Marquinhos, then cut back and shoot towards the goalkeeper's post. 1-0 partial and that was the end of the first half.
In the second half, Phillippe Coutinho scored a great goal at 62' when he took a powerful shot from mid-range and make it 2-0. Then at 86' Antony received a pass from Éverton and throw a left-footed shot at the top corner. 3-0 partial.
There was still another goal to come and this would come in a Brazilian counterattack that Rodrygo started and in turn would receive it at the front of the area to an empty goal and Rodrygo himself would push it in, making it the definitive 4-0.
With this victory, Brazil consolidates its leadership in the standings with 39 points, while Paraguay, with only 13, mathematically loses the opportunity to qualify for this World Cup.
Peru vs Ecuador
The match took place at the National Stadium in Lima and the referee was the Brazilian Wilton Sampaio. The locals came from beating Colombia as visitors, while Ecuador tied with Brazil.
This was the last match of the date and, by far, the most exciting, since both showed that they left everything on the field. Ecuador took the lead in minute 2, thanks to a goal by Estrada when he received a long pass that the striker controlled and defined with class. 0-1 partial.
From that moment on, 'La Tricolor' would dominate the game and create many dangerous chances in Gallese's area, but the goalkeeper, as always, would have a great performance under the three posts. However, in the second half, Edison Flores headed in a cross after a play from the right of the area and to tie at 69'.
With this tie, Peru is in fifth place with 21 points and Ecuador is in third place with 25 units. The dates 17 and 18 of the South American Qualifiers will be held on March 24 and 29, respectively.
