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2016’s last International break is over and the South American teams’ race to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup has intensified. There were a few big games scheduled in the month of November, so now let us discuss how things stand after 12 games.
Brazil – 27 Points
The Samba boys sit at the top of the standings after recording a comfortable 2-0 win over Peru and routing rivals Argentina 3-0. After an average spell we are now witnessing the performances we were used to seeing from Brazil. Gabriel Jesus, Phillipe Coutinho, Renato Augusto are showing great form and then there is Neymar ofcourse. We can safely say that Brazil will be the first team from South America to qualify for the World Cup.
Uruguay – 23 Points
Uruguay sit second in the table four points behind Brazil and three ahead of Ecuador and Chile. In the November break, they recorded a 2-1 win over Ecuador but lost 3-1 in Chile after taking the lead through Edinson Cavani. The PSG frontman is their leading goalscorer in the qualifiers. Uruguay should also comfortably qualify but they face Brazil next in March 2017.
Ecuador, Chile – 20 Points
This is where the table becomes interesting. Ecuador and Chile are tied on 20 points and are just one ahead of Argentina and two ahead of Colombia.
Ecuador failed in Uruguay but saw off the threat of Venezuela by beating them 3-0.
Chile went to Colombia for a point, and I’ve got to say made the game as boring as possible, and succeeded as they drew 0-0 but recorded a confidence boosting 3-1 win against Uruguay by coming from behind.
Argentina – 19 Points
Things are not going too great for Argentina football team. An embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Brazil left them struggling at sixth place but they finally woke up and beat Colombia 3-0 who were their closest rivals at that point. Messi inspirational yet again with a stunning free kick and two assists. Argentina need to keep winning to guarantee a spot for the World Cup in Russia.
Colombia – 18 Points
The Colombians were doing well before November games. One point from two games has put them sixth on the table which is outside the qualification zone. A home goalless draw against Chile could be the result they regret in a year.
Paraguay – 15 Points, Peru – 14 Points
Paraguay are another team who were doing well but November games has almost put them out of the race. A 4-1 home defeat to Peru and 1-0 away defeat to Bolivia will surely damage their campaign seriously.
Peru showed signs of improvement by beating Paraguay but qualification could be too big an ask.
Bolivia – 7 Points, Venezuela – 5 Points
No surprises here. Both sides were not expected to do anything significant and they didn’t. Both the nations are all but ruled out of the race.
So this is where we stand after 12 games and with no more fixtures coming up in 2016, few managers will go into 2017 nervous. In March we will resume the qualification process and six more games will decide which top four teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup in Russia and which team gets fifth spot to earn a play off round vs Oceania opponents.
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