Brazil leaped to the top of the South American qualifying table for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday with a 4-0 rout of host Uruguay, while former leader Paraguay fell 2-0 at home to Chile.
Brazil won at Centenario stadium for the first time since 1976 on goals by FC Barcelona star Dani Alves in the 11th minute, AS Roma cenral defender Juan in the 35th, Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano in the 52nd and AC Milan star Kaka on a penalty kick in the 74th minute.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Goals by Matias Fernandez in the 12th minute and Humberto Suazo in the 50th gave the Chilean a critical away triumph that put them only one point off the pace of Brazil and Paraguay, which now trails on goal difference.
FIVE TO GO
Together with Argentina’s 1-0 triumph over Colombia at Buenos Aires, the four top teams have separated themselves with five matches remaining to decide the four squads that will qualify for the World Cup showdown in South Africa next year.
Brazil (6-1 with six drawn) stand on 24 points, moving atop Paraguay (7-3-3) by virtue of superior goal difference, with Chile (7-4-2) next on 23 points and Argentina (6-3-4) fourth on 22.
The Uruguayans are in fifth place, five points back of Argentina but only one ahead of Venezuela and just three atop Colombia and Ecuador, which has a match in hand.
HOPE REMAINS
The leaders are not out of reach, but even if they hold onto their spots, the remaining six teams have World Cup hope.
South America’s fifth-place finisher will meet North America’s fourth-place team for another 2010 World Cup bid.
Uruguay knew extra heart-break from a fifth-place finish in 2005, losing out on a World Cup trip to Germany in a playoff against Australia.
Daniel Diaz’s goal in the 55th minute gave Argentina a crucial home victory, stretching the gap on lower rivals for coach Diego Maradona’s side and staying within reach of the top spot.
Bolivian heartache continued with a 1-0 home loss to Venezuela after scoring an own goal in the 32nd minute.
Ecuador, level on 14 points with Colombia, was set to try to move up with an away victory yesterday at doormat Andean rivals Peru in Lima.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
RSS