South America's World Cup qualifying campaign has played three rounds of matches over the past week. This allowed them to progress from the halfway point to the stage where two-thirds of the matches are complete. Only three games saw the away team score a goal: two hosted by Venezuela at the bottom of the table and one managed by Uruguay in the 4-1 loss in Brazil.
South America's vast distances, temperature variations and unique localities like altitude make home advantage important. With fans returning to the stadiums, it may have been even more important in the last few days. Chile and Bolivia needed to win in front their fans on Sunday and Thursday to have any chance of reaching Qatar. Mission accomplished.
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Bolivia defeated Paraguay at La Paz's extreme altitude 4-0. They were level on points and goal difference, but Bolivia was ahead of them in seventh because they have more goals. Soon after the end, Paraguay fired coach Eduardo Berizzo.
Chile is one point ahead of Paraguay and Bolivia. They maintained their chances with a convincing 3-0 win over Venezuela. After Erik Pulgar's two goals in the first half, Chile's Ben Brereton Diaz performance continued with a third goal that was brilliantly taken. Chile is now only three points behind the qualification positions. They will not be competing with Argentina or Brazil, who are far more distant. They are now competing with Ecuador who has 17 points and Colombia and Uruguay who have 16.
Uruguay's problem is that the next month's games will be tough. They host Argentina on Sunday and then travel to La Paz to face Bolivia. Uruguay is in a dogfight. Their best football was evident in the first half of this month's games at home to Colombia. They were forced to settle for a draw at home to Colombia, but the deadlock wasn't broken.
The three centre-back systems they used against Argentina were not repeated for the Brazil trip. It was back to 4-4-2 with the Luis Suarez/Edinson Cavani partnership. This too may have been a mistake. This was a game where Uruguay would have been better off packing the midfield. After putting up their best performance in many years, they ran into a Brazil team that sent Manaus home content.
Three keys were key to the Brazil show. The first was Neymar. He was back on form, clearly having a point. He was allowed to roam and there wasn't an orthodox centre-forward so he could also roam in that space. Neymar is described by Coach Tite as both bow and arrow. He may be Brazil's best centre forward, but he needs someone who can give him Neymar-style passes. Fred, a Manchester United midfielder, was the one who provided the defense-splitting ball. He helped Neymar time his run and control the ball.
The second was Lucas Paqueta's left wing play and the combination of Neymar and him. Brazil had won the game before the 20-minute mark. Paqueta beat Nahitan Nandez once more and found Neymar. His deflected shot was saved by Raphinha, the third part to the Brazil success story.
After two excellent substitute appearances Raphinha made a great start and put Uruguay in a difficult position when he responded to a Neymar pass with a stunning left-footed strike. This performance was indicative that Brazil could be a contender for the World Cup next year, with Raphinha, Paqueta, and Neymar all being so irresistible.
Brazil's Neymar, a striker for Brazil, scored to leave Luis Suarez, his former Barcelona teammate, and Uruguay in a difficult situation to win the 2022 World Cup. Buda Mendes/Getty Images
The same holds true for Argentina, who won 1-0 in Buenos Aires to extend their unbeaten streak. They were not at their best after a promising start, with Lionel Messi struggling for his usual precision. There is now a strong team around Messi and his teammates made the most of the space he provides down the right side. Giovani Lo Celso was the linker, while Nahuel Molina, right-back, played a clever exchange with Rodrigo De Paul, and sent in a cross. Lautaro Martinez's bullet header at the near post met the cross. Peru won a penalty against the flow of play in the second period, but Yoshimar Yotun scored, meaning Argentina has now kept four straight clean sheets.
Colombia has kept three shutouts. The problem is that they also failed to score in any of these games and can only look back at this month's match results as pointless draws. They were certain they had won the match, but the latest 0-0 at home to Ecuador is the most disappointing.
A desperate throw from the left fell at the feet Yerry Mina (a giant centre-back) in the 10th minute. He turned and directed the ball towards the far post. Barranquilla's stadium erupted in celebration. It seemed harsh to Ecuador, who had just lost to Uruguay last month with a stoppage time goal in a match where they were unlucky not be given a penalty. It seemed right for Ecuador. They were content with a draw and had overdone timewasting to absurd levels. They had been penalized, but VAR ruled it out for an offside narrowly early in the game. VAR decided that Mina's goal was a mistake and ruled it out.
This sequence of goalless draws clearly demonstrates the importance of firing James Rodriguez and getting him fit. Colombia's defeat of Poland was one of the most impressive performances at the 2018 World Cup. They could only count on Rodriguez being fit. They looked ordinary without him. They are unbeaten in eight rounds under Reinaldo Rueda's coaching, but six of those games ended in draws. Brazil is next.
Rodriguez's return could be a big difference in the home stretch. The Ecuadorian trip to Chile next month could make a big difference. The gap between them was nine percentage points before Sunday's games. Chile has now reduced that gap to just four points. Brereton Diaz hopes to make it even closer in November.
