To The Wire

The international break is upon us; and the attention now switches to the World Cup qualifying matches as we near the final stretch of the qualification road towards Qatar 2022. With the World Cup reaching ever-humongous proportions; the stakes have never been higher; as the teams try desperately to achieve this ultimate sporting dream.

And nowhere is this race more tight than in the South American qualifying competition. The teams have always been close; but this year reaches new dimensions as no fewer than 7 teams are fighting for the two remaining qualification spots. With favorites Brasil & Argentina already through; it is left to basically all the rest of the teams to fight for the last 2 spots; with the exception of Venezuela. A fifth team will go into the equation of the inter-continental play-off with Asia.

And there are some star players whose fate is in the reckoning; notably Luis Suarez & Edinson Cavani for double World Champion Uruguay; who must never have thought they would be in this precarious position. Also Alexis Sanchez & Arturo Vidal for Chile; and James Rodriguez & Juan Cuadrado for Colombia. Surprisingly; it is Ecuador who sit in prime position in third place; exemplifying again the surprising nature of the CONMEBOL group; and the adage that truly anyone can beat anyone.