A Look at South American Qualifying for World Cup 2010

South American qualifying for World Cup 2010 has hit the one third mark.  Here is a look at the action and standings so far.  Surprising Paraguay sits in the catbirds seat as they lead the standings with 13 points from 6 matches thus far.  I'm sure nobody would have expected to see Paraguay topping the tables at this point, but they have been perfect at home, including a 2-0 win over Brazil.  Their next match is at Argentina, who would jump them to the top spot with a win however.  Meanwhile, Argentina is sitting in good shape.  They are currently 2nd place and can take the top spot with a win at home over Paraguay in the next round.  They also have the Brazil trip off their schedule, where they earned a draw.

Brazil's poor standing has been the surprise so far as they currently sit 5th and outside the automatic qualifiers.  Throw in the fact that Brazil's next match is on the road in Chile and things could get worse before they get better.  A loss in Chile would really put the pressure on the Brazilians.

Chile and Columbia currently sit tied for third on 10 points and both are clearly in the hunt for a South Africa 2010 spot.  Columbia have still yet to be beaten, but four draws have held their point total down somewhat.  They have a tough schedule ahead as trips to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina still loom.  Chile sits in a more favorable position as they have only played two games at home so far and won two games on the road in June at Bolivia and Venezuela.  Look for Chile to claim one of the four automatic berths from South America.

On the bottom end of the table sits a pair of disappointments in Peru and Bolivia.  Both are in dire shape and are probably already out of the running even though 12 games remain.  South American qualifying is so tough it is very difficult to make up points much less the three full games both teams sit outside the qualifying zone.  Both teams are leaking goals at an alarming rate giving up nearly three goals per match.

Finaly Urugauy and Venezuela are within reach sitting 6th and 7th, but need major moves to become factors in qualifying.  While Ecuador sits 8th and is losing touch with the leaders fast.