South American Qualifying for Russia 2018 kicked off this morning with some big results.
Ecuador upsetting Argentina away must be the biggest of all.
Bolivia 0 – 2 Uruguay
Colombia 2 – 0 Peru
Venezuela 0 – 1 Paraguay
Chile 2 – 0 Brazil
Argentina 0 – 2 Ecuador

It is very much possible that Brazil will end up in the intercontinental play offs

Can't see them finishing ahead of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay they'll be scrapping with Colombia and Ecuador

Ecuador 2-0 Bolivia FT
Uruguay 2-0 Columbia 60'
Paraguay 0-0 Argentina 24'

Got some ripper fixtures in South America today.

Boliva currently lead 3-1 at HT over Venezuela

Chile vs Columbia kicks of at 10.30 and Argentina vs Brazil kicks off at 11

Ecuador vs Uruguay is pretty tasty too.

About to kick off

Are Argentina in trouble?

Seems to be a bit of a shift in south American football at the moment.

The power seems to be moving from the "traditional powerhouses" of Brazil and Argentina and onto Chile and, Ecuador and even Columbia

I still think 'Comnebol' sounds like something you randomly say when being casually racist towards South East Asians.

They have only picked up 1 point from 2 home games, so you would think they are in trouble. But they are also only 2 points behind 4th place so only a little change in form will see them challenging again quickly. With 15 games still to play they have plenty of time to sort it out.

After 5 matches we have Argentina, Chile and Colombia in position 5,6 and 7

Brazil vs Uruguay 2-2 was a great match this morning. Brazil's defenders are just awful. Really lucky to hold on. Brazil lead 2-0 but could not handle Suarez or Cavani at all. Willian was the only Brazil player that looked dangerous

Paraguay utterly cocked it up against Brazil.

2-0 up on 80' and Dani Alves equalized in stoppage time.

Matchday 6

Paraguay 2-2 Brazil
Uruguay 1-0 Peru
Columbia 3-1 Ecuador
Venezuela 1-4 Chile
Argentina 2-0 Bolivia


Table
Uruguay 13
Ecuador 13
Argentina 11
Chile 10

---

Columbia 10

---

Brazil 9
Paraguay 9
Peru 4
Bolivia 3
Venezuela 1

Matchday 7 is on Friday morning Oz East Coast time and Matchday 8 is on Wednesday morning

Chile getting pumped early by Ecuador. Chile have some easier games near the end but need to be careful. I think they'll be burnt out after two Copa Americas and Confederation cup and might not get to Russia. 

Friday November 11th (AEDT):
7.30am Colombia v Chile
10.00am Uruguay v Ecudaor
10.30am Paraguay v Peru
10.30am Venezuela v Bolivia
10.45am Brazil v Argentina

Wednesday November 16th (AEDT):
7.00am Bolivia v Paraguay
8.00am Ecuador v Venezuela
10.30am Argentina v Colombia
10.30am Chile v Uruguay
1.15pm Peru v Brazil

Brazil 3-0 Argentina ... Countinho's goal almost broke the net, absolute thumper!!

2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying standings – South America Zone after Matchday 11:
1 Brazil 11 7 3 1 26 9 +17 24
2 Uruguay 11 7 2 2 23 8 +15 23
3 Colombia 11 5 3 3 15 12 +3 18
4 Ecuador 11 5 2 4 19 16 +3 17
5 Chile 11 5 2 4 18 16 +2 17
6 Argentina 11 4 4 3 11 12 −1 16
7 Paraguay 11 4 3 4 11 16 −5 15
8 Peru 11 4 2 5 18 18 0 14
9 Venezuela 11 1 2 8 14 26 −12 5
10 Bolivia 11 1 1 9 9 31 −22 4

CONMEBOL Standings after Matchday 12:
1 Brazil 12 8 3 1 28 9 +19 27
2 Uruguay 12 7 2 3 24 11 +13 23
3 Ecuador 12 6 2 4 22 16 +6 20
4 Chile 12 6 2 4 21 17 +4 20
5 Argentina 12 5 4 3 14 12 +2 19
6 Colombia 12 5 3 4 15 15 +0 18
7 Paraguay 12 4 3 5 11 17 -6 15
8 Peru 12 4 2 6 18 20 -2 14
9 Bolivia 12 2 1 9 10 31 -21 7
10 Venezuela 12 1 2 9 14 29 -15 5

Matchday 13 - Friday March 24th (AEDT):
Colombia v Bolivia
Paraguay v Ecuador
Argentina v Chile
Venezuela v Peru
Uruguay v Brazil

Matchday 14 - Wednesday March 29th (AEDT):
Chile v Venezuela
Brazil v Paraguay
Ecuador v Colombia
Bolivia v Argentina
Peru v Uruguay

Who's going to miss out? I'd love to see Paraguay put a bit more pressure on. I'll tip Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay Argentina and Chile to be 5th. 

South America Zone standings as of March 28th:
1 Brazil 14 10 3 1 35 10 +25 33
2 Colombia 14 7 3 4 18 15 +3 24
3 Uruguay 14 7 2 5 26 17 +9 23
4 Chile 14 7 2 5 24 19 +5 23
5 Argentina 14 6 4 4 15 14 +1 22
6 Ecuador 14 6 2 6 23 20 +3 20
7 Peru 14 5 3 6 22 23 -1 18
8 Paraguay 14 5 3 6 13 21 -8 18
9 Bolivia 14 3 1 10 12 32 -20 10
10 Venezuela 14 1 3 10 17 34 -17
 
Matchday 15:
Chile v Paraguay
Brazil v Ecuador
Venezuela v Colombia 
Peru v Bolivia 
Uruguay v Argentina
 
Matchday 16:
Colombia v Brazil
Paraguay v Uruguay
Argentina v Venezuela
Ecuador v Peru
Bolivia v Chile

*NOTE:
Lionel Messi is suspended for the next 3 World Cup qualifiers (away at Uruguay, home vs Venezuela, home vs Peru), he returns for their final qualifier at Ecuador.

South America Zone standings as of September 5th:
1 Brazil 16 11 4 1 38 11 +27 37
2 Uruguay 16 8 3 5 28 18 +10 27
3 Colombia 16 7 5 4 19 16 +3 26
4 Peru 16 7 3 6 26 25 +1 24
5 Argentina 16 6 6 4 16 15 +1 24
6 Chile 16 7 2 7 24 23 +1 23
7 Paraguay 16 6 3 7 17 23 −6 21
8 Ecuador 16 6 2 8 24 24 0 20
9 Bolivia 16 4 1 11 14 34 −20 13
10 Venezuela 16 1 5 10 18 35 −17 8

Friday October 6th:
7.00am Bolivia v Brazil
7.00am Venezuela v Uruguay
10.30am Chile v Ecuador
10.30am Colombia v Paraguay
10.30am Argentina v Peru

Wednesday October 11th (all games begin at 10.30am AEDT):
Brazil v Chile
Ecuador v Argentina
Paraguay v Venezuela
Peru v Colombia
Uruguay v Bolivia

South America is always a tight battle.

Perus matches with Argentina and Colombia will be critical for 3rd-6th places, they last made the World Cup in 1982 so will be a massive achievement if they can make it though.

Interesting results today makes for some very juicy matches next week. With a distinct possibility that Argentina miss out all together. If Argentina win away to Ecuador they are certain of at least a play-off spot. But anything less than a win could see them finishing outside of even the play-off spots if results go against them. If they loose they need Peru to loose by even more and Paraguay to not win (which they probably will at home to Venezuela). 


Bolivia 0-0 Brazil
Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay
Argentina 0-0 Peru
Chile 2-1 Ecuador
Colombia 1-2 Paraguay

Fixtures for the final round.
Brazil vs Chile
Ecuador vs Argentina
Peru vs Colombia
Uruguay vs Bolivia
Paraguay vs Venezuela

Current Table
                  P  W  D  L  F   A  GD  Pts
1 Brazil      17  11  5  1  38  11  27    38
2 Uruguay  17   8   4  5  28 18  10    28
3 Chile       17   8   2  7  26 24   2     26
4 Colombia 17   7   5  5  20 18   2     26
5 Peru        17   7   4  6  26 25   1     25
6 Argentina 17   6   7  4  16 15   1     25
7 Paraguay 17    7  3  7  19 24   -5    24
8 Ecuador   17    6  2  9  25 26   -1    20
9 Bolivia     17   4   2  11 14 34  -20   14
10 Venezuela 17 1   6  10 18 35  -17    9

Argentina in a lot of trouble

Making Australia look good with our campaign

At least they get to qualify with a win next game.

As a long suffering Peruvian,all we could is park the bus against the Argies and only good goal keeping and poor finishing kept us in it today. We had 3 of our first 11 out today, but Argentina still should really have buried us.

A win against Colombia in the last game is a must. Can't rely on other results.The whole country would go off!

That is so tight. Insane. Argentina must win as I can't see Paraguay losing. A draw for Colombia would be enough as Paraguay have much worse goal difference and Peru would still be below them. 
Chile needing to prevent a loss in Brazil are in trouble. 

Tiebreakers

In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):^[16]

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Overall goal difference
3. Overall goals scored
4. Points in matches between tied teams
5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
8. Fair play points
   • first yellow card: minus 1 point
   • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
   • direct red card: minus 4 points
   • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Good luck for your side on Wednesday morning mate