Home may be where the heart is, but it was not where the three points were. Not on Tuesday in South America at least.
Matchday 8 of CONMEBOL’s World Cup Qualifying campaign took place on Tuesday, and none of the five local teams were able to come out on top. Colombia needed a last-gasp goal to erase a disastrous start and avoid defeat against Argentina while Peru went on the road and stunned Ecuador.
Bolivia also grabbed a good result away to Chile, visiting Brazil continued to roll with a win over Paraguay, and hosting Venezuela played Uruguay to a draw in a round of matches that made the overall standings that much tighter.
Here is a quick recap of the latest results in World Cup Qualifying in South America and the updated table:
Ecuador 1-2 Peru
(Gonzalo Plata 90+2′) — (Christian Cueva 62′, Luis Advincula 88′)
Peru picked up its first three points while handing Ecuador its first home loss of the campaign. La Blanquirroja striker Gianluca Lapadula helped lead the way in the surprising triumph, assisting on both of his team’s goals in the second half of the first game of his career played at altitude. Gonzala Plata pulled one back late to give La Tricolor some life, but the team never found an equalizer.
Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay
Atlanta United striker Josef Martinez thought he had put Venezuela ahead in the first half vs. Uruguay, but his solid finish in the 17th minute was whistled back after it was determined that he handled the ball while bringing it down. Both La Vinotinto and La Celeste struggled to create many clear-cut chances the rest of the way, but both sides had opportunities that they failed to push home.
Colombia 2-2 Argentina
(Luis Muriel 51′, Miguel Borja 90+4′) — (Cristian Romero 3′, Leandro Paredes 8′)
Argentina got off to a dream start with a pair of goals inside the first eight minutes, but Colombia stormed back in the second half to find a leveler near the death. Luis Muriel scored from the penalty spot shortly after halftime and substitute Miguel Borja tied the game up for Los Cafeteros in stoppage time with a towering header. La Albiceleste had chances to put the game away earlier, but Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina came up with several good saves to keep his side in it in a game played in front of some fans.
Paraguay 0-2 Brazil
(Neymar 4′, Lucas Paqueta 90+3′)
Brazil made it six wins in as many games to remain flawless in qualifying, though Paraguay put up a good fight. Neymar scored his fifth goal for La Verde-amarela in this campaign just four minutes into the match, but both sides traded several scoring opportunities after that. La Albirroja could not find a way past Ederson, however, and that opened the door for substitute Lucas Paqueta to see off the game with a low, one-timed effort in stoppage time off an assist from the red-hot Neymar.
Chile 1-1 Bolivia
(Erick Pulgar 69′) — (Marcelo Martins 82′)
South America’s leading goal-scorer right now is Bolivia’s Marcelo Martins, who scored via a thunderous penalty kick eight minutes from time to give his nation a share of the spoils against Chile. La Roja had taken the lead in the second half off an Erick Pulgar header, but a late VAR decision went in favor of La Verde after it was determined that there was a Chile handball in the 18-yard box. From there, Martins made no mistake with a powerful take that gave him his sixth tally in these qualifiers and Bolivia its fifth point.
Standings
1. Brazil……….18 pts……….+14 GD
2. Argentina……….12 pts……….+4 GD
3. Ecuador……….9 pts……….+4 GD
4. Uruguay……….8 pts……….0 GD
5. Colombia……….8 pts……….-2 GD
6. Paraguay……….7 pts………. -1 GD
7. Chile……….6 pts……….0 GD
8. Bolivia……….5 pts……….-5 GD
9. Venezuela……….4 pts……….-6 GD
10. Peru……….4 pt……….-8 GD