Uruguay and Ecuador have qualified for the World Cup to be held in Qatar later this year. The Uruguay national team defeated Peru 1–0 at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo. Giorgion de Arrascaeta of Flamengo Rio de Janeiro scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute.
Although Ecuador lost 3–1 to Paraguay at Ciudad del Este, they booked a ticket to Qatar despite the loss thanks to a comfortable score.
Brazil beat Chile 4-0 while Colombia beat Bolivia 3-0. Four teams from South America qualify directly for the World Cup. Apart from Uruguay and Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina have already secured their starting places.
The fifth-placed player goes into relegation against a team from Asia. Peru is currently in fifth place with 21 points, followed by Colombia with 20 points.
On Friday, the Argentina national team still needs to meet Venezuela’s final squad around superstar Lionel Messi. The World Cup qualifiers in South America will end next Tuesday with the last matches of all ten teams.
Canada lost heavily
Canada, on the other hand, missed out on qualifying for the World Cup after losing 1-0 to Costa Rica. After a loss with a man on Thursday evening (local time), the table leaders in the final group North and Central America are losing only one more point for participation in the second World Cup in their history. Marc-Anthony Kaye got a second yellow card in the 34th minute, with Celso Borges scoring the winning goal just before half time.
Costa Rica moved up to fourth on the table with a home win and kept the hopes of a trip to Qatar alive. The top three teams from the continental confederation CONCACAF qualify directly for the World Cup final at the end of the year, with the fourth-placed teams going into the playoffs against a team from Oceania.
The teams from the United States and Mexico, which fell 0–0 in a straight duel, are still in second and third places. Both teams are three points behind Canada and three points ahead of Costa Rica, with 22 points each. There are still two days left of the game.
Canada meets Jamaica on the day of the final match on Sunday. The United States face Panama, which slipped to fifth place after a 1–1 draw with Honduras, but still has the potential for direct World Cup qualification. Honduras is at the bottom of the table and hosts Mexico in the final qualifiers.
