Uruguay shook off a stoppage-time equaliser with a winner on the last kick to down Colombia 3-2, while Chile and Peru played to a 0-0 draw.
Matchday 11 of South American qualifying for FIFA World Cup 26™ continued on Friday with stoppage-time drama, as Uruguay scored with the final kick of the match to defeat Colombia. Meanwhile, two sides in desperate need of a win would have to settle for a point, as Peru and Chile fought to a scoreless draw.
Uruguay goals: Sanchez OG (57), Aguirre (60), Manuel Ugarte (90+11) Colombia goals: Quintero (31), Gomez (90+6)
Uruguay won a qualifier for the ages by defeating Colombia 3-2 in the final seconds to cap a thrilling night in Montevideo.
La Celeste looked set to secure a 2-1 win, only for Andres Gomez to seemingly earn Colombia a precious share of the spoils in the sixth minute of stoppage time. But Uruguay went on to have the final say, with Ugarte supplying the winner.
It snaps both a four-match winless and goalless streak in qualifying for Uruguay, who moved past Colombia and into second place in the standings with 19 points, ahead of Friday’s visitors on goal difference.
Colombia’s intent to build attack through quick combinations was rewarded when they won a free-kick deep in the Uruguay area, where Juan Quintero waved his magic wand and curled a free kick around a two-man wall, dropping it just inside the near post and out of the Sergio Rochet’s reach for a 1-0 lead.
There was a quicker tempo to Uruguay’s play to start the second stanza and good fortune smiled down on them when a harmless cross from Marcelo Saracchi was deflected by Davinson Sanchez into his own net for an equaliser.
It was just the spark the hosts needed and, minutes later, they grabbed a lead, with some quick, slick passing ending with Mathias Olivera feeding Rodrigo Aguirre, who took a touch and fired home. Uruguay appeared poised to see things out, but failed to clear their lines, allowing Gomez to swoop in and poke a shot past Rochet to bring his side level. However, the night belonged to La Celeste, and on the final play Ugarte was in the right place and time to fire home for the dramatic 3-2 winner.
Quotes
“Triumphs like today are healing, in the sense that they bring the parties around the Uruguayan national team closer together. Besides, it was a very exciting match and the bravery of the players to preserve the victory was very evident. This was an immense joy, a necessary triumph.” Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay head coach
“With a cool head, we will analyse what happened. It was a game with good moments for both of us, but we will have time to finish understanding what happened.” Juan Quintero, Colombia midfielder
Stat
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Uruguay have lost only one of their last 11 World Cup qualifying matches against Colombia (W7 D3).
In a duel between the two sides at the bottom of the standings, Peru and Chile played to a scoreless draw in Lima. The result leaves Peru in ninth place with seven points, a notch ahead of last-placed Chile, who sit on six.
It was all Chile at the start, with a trio of chances inside the first 20 minutes which forced diving saves out of Peru goalkeeper Carlos Caceda.
Peru started to muster some scoring opportunities of their own through Paolo Guerrero. There was more from the Peru attack in the second half, as they sought to pick the Chilean lock, but found the visitors’ resistance too strong. Chile lurched back with chances on the counter, including a Diego Valdes effort that flew over the crossbar.
It looked as if Peru would have the chance to secure a late win in stoppage time after a penalty was called when Gianluca Lapadula was fouled in the Chile area. However, a video review revealed the Peruvian dangerman was offside, negating the spot-kick and cementing the stalemate.
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Quotes
“I think that we played the correct game. I think we played a great game. Sadly the win didn’t come and so we just have to move forward.” Gianluca Lapadula, Peru forward
“It was a difficult game but I think we deserved the win. We had a lot of opportunities in front of goal, but the ball didn’t want to go in. It was a tough game. It is really hard to play against Peru, but the most important thing for us is we got a point, it had been a while since we had gotten a point, so that will give us confidence against Venezuela at home.” Arturo Vidal, Chile midfielder
Stat
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Peru have won only one of their last 12 World Cup qualifying matches (D5 L6), while the result ended Chile’s five-match losing streak in World Cup qualifying.
World Cup participations
Brazil (22) Argentina (18) Uruguay (14) Chile (9) Paraguay (8) Colombia (6) Peru (5) Ecuador (4) Bolivia (3) Venezuela (0)
Best World Cup finish
Brazil: Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 & 2002) Argentina: Champions (1978, 1986 & 2022) Uruguay: Champions (1930 & 1950) Chile: Third place (1962) Peru: Quarter finals (1970 & 1978) Colombia: Quarter-finals (2014) Paraguay: Quarter-finals (2010) Ecuador: Last 16 (2006) Bolivia: Group stage (1930, 1950 & 1994)
