Buenos Aires - The South American qualifiers towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was wide open on Saturday.
After seven rounds of play, Paraguay lead with 14 points, followed by Argentina on 12 and Uruguay on 11. Colombia and Chile have 10 points, although Chile have a game in hand, against Brazil.
Perennial football giants Brazil, in sixth place with nine points, are in danger of failing to qualify for the World Cup.
Uruguay beat Colombia 1-0 in Bogota to climb to third place, while Ecuador defeated lowly Bolivia 3-1 to recover from a poor start in the qualifiers, and Peru scored their first victory in seven games with a 1-0 win against Venezuela.
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On a cold, rainy afternoon in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Paraguay played what hometown coach Alfio Basile described as "a strange game".
Paraguay's coach Gerardo Martino - an Argentine - attempted to explain the result by suggesting that his men "were afraid to win" the match.
Argentina had the first clear chance, when a free kick executed by ace Juan Roman Riquelme hit the crossbar in the 8th minute.
However, a gross mistake in the 13th minute by defender Gabriel Heinze dramatically changed the course of the game. Heinze failed to head the ball clear, collided with Argentine 'keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri and finally scored an own goal. Abbondanzieri, with a knee injury, had to be replaced by Juan Pablo Carrizo.
To make matters worse, Argentina - winless in the last four rounds of the qualifiers - were down to 10 men by the 31st minute, after Carlos Tevez got a red card for a violent foul on Dario Veron. Said Basile: "Of course we wanted to win, but it turned out like this."
A disciplined Paraguay squad controlled play until the break. However, Basile fielded substitute striker Sergio Aguero, who was very active throughout the second half and changed the pace of the match.
Aguero capitalised on a great pass from Lionel Messi in the 62nd minute to make it 1-1.
Ecuador defeated Bolivia 3-1 in Quito while Peru just managed to beat Venezuela 1-0 with a goal from Piero Alva in the 38th minute before a half-full stadium. - Sapa-DPA
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This article was originally published on page 24 of The Star on September 08, 2008
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