The great protagonist in Quito was the Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán who, in consultation with the VAR, twice rectified the expulsion of goalkeeper Alisson.
The Ecuadorian team took a giant step towards the Qatar World Cup this Thursday by drawing 1-1 with Brazil at the height of Quito (2,850 masl), on a day in which Paraguay and Uruguay will play everything to stay in the race and Chile must beat qualifier Argentina to have hope.
The great protagonist of the afternoon in Quito was the Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán who, in consultation with the VAR, rectified twice the expulsion of the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson and in one of them he also reversed with a penalty in favor of Ecuador at the end of the party. Those who were not saved were the local goalkeeper, Alexander Domínguez, expelled at minute 16 and the Brazilian Emerson Aparecido, who saw a red card four minutes later.
Ecuador took a fair prize and established itself in third place in the pre-world championships with 24 points, behind the qualifiers Brazil and Argentina, and extended its advantage over Colombia and Peru, both with 17 points and rivals on Friday.
One step below are Chile and Uruguay, both with 16 points, followed by Bolivia with 15 and Paraguay with 13. The eliminated Venezuela closes the positions with 7.
close, very close
It was not enough for Ecuador to snatch the undefeated Brazil at the height of Quito and direct their pass to the World Cup on this date 15, but they can meet the goal on Tuesday against the needy Peru and join the already classified Brazil and Argentina.
South America has four direct tickets to Qatar and the fifth will play a playoff with a team from Asia.
With the ticket in his pocket and without Neymar, Brazil dedicated himself to managing the game after the early goal scored by Casemiro and offered the local the prominence that could have given the blow and taken the undefeated from the powerful green and yellow team.
The undefeated seleçao now accumulates a series of 11 wins and three draws, against Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador.
The five-time world champion, who almost has the obligation to finish as leader of the South American tie, was tested once again without his star Neymar who gives a very different flight to Tite’s team.
Test without Messi
Something very similar to what happens to Argentina, which will not have its figure Lionel Messi on this double date, more decisive in the pre-world championship than his friend and partner from PSG.
Without Messi, whom the Albiceleste gave rest, and with the absence on the bench of his DT Lionel Scaloni due to covid-19, Argentina will go up to Calama (2,260 meters above sea level), the site that Chile chose to try to reverse a hard panorama.
La Roja, sixth with 16 points, is between a rock and a hard place, with no margin, and a defeat against Argentina will leave them out of action, with almost no chance of going to a World Cup for the second time in a row.
The same number of points has Uruguay, which debuts Diego Alonso as coach, replacing veteran Oscar Tabárez, who was dismissed in November after 15 years on the blue bench.
Alonso does not have it easy: he will have to lift a national team that has accumulated five games without winning in the qualifying round, four defeats and a draw, and with its top figures, strikers Édinson Cavani and Luis Suárez, far from their glory days.
suspenseful friday
Colombia and Peru have a lot to say for themselves and for others. Colombia is fourth with 17 points, the same as its rival on Friday in the Caribbean Barranquilla, the coffee stronghold.
The irregular selected Inca focuses on repeating his qualification for a World Cup at the hands of Ricardo Gareca, as happened in Russia-2018 after 36 years of frustration.
The coffee team, on its side, will be in trouble if it does not quickly resolve its low scoring efficiency (16 goals in 14 games) in the last part of the 18-date World Cup, despite having figures such as Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Luis Muriel and Luis Diaz.
Although his coach, Reinaldo Rueda, does not want any surprises at this point in the night and turned to the experienced James Rodríguez and Falcao García for the double shift.
At the close of the date, Bolivia (eighth with 15 units) must win yes or yes to the eliminated Venezuela and commend themselves to all saints to maintain some remote hope.
La Vinotinto, meanwhile, is starting a new process under the command of Argentine veteran José Pekerman, with his sights set on the 2026 World Cup and the challenge of taking off the weight of being the only South American team that has never participated in the top soccer event. .
However, the Argentine made it clear that they will play with everything until the end of the qualifying rounds: “There is no tomorrow for the national team, the player must think about today.” (D)
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
