Maybe it’s late: The Colombian National Team met again with the goal this Thursday, defeating Bolivia 3-0, and end a streak of 684 minutes without scoring a goal, the second worst in the history of South American qualifiers. The first also ended this Thursday: Paraguay scored after 691 minutes.
However, the burden of the seven games without scoring a goal, added to the two lousy results on dates 3 and 4 of the tie, completely closed the possibility of fighting for the direct quota to the Qatar World Cup. Precisely the two teams that beat him at the end of the Carlos Queiroz era, Uruguay and Ecuador, qualified for the World Cup.
These are the results needed for the playoff
Without the direct quota in sight, Colombia only has to fight for the passage to Qatar with one stopover, that of the playoff against the fifth team from Asia, which will come out of the duel between Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite losing against Uruguay, Peru is still in the play-off zone, with 21 points. Colombia came closer and is now sixth in the table, with 20 units, and Chile, which lost against Brazil, was left with 19, in seventh place.
What does Colombia need to qualify for the playoffs? First, beat Venezuela in Puerto Ordaz on Tuesday. And second, a little hand from Paraguay, to get at least one draw from Peru in Lima. If that happens, Reinaldo Rueda’s team would be left with 23 units, above Ricardo Gareca’s team, which, with the tie, would stop at 22, or if they lose, with 21.
Colombia could go to playoff with a draw
There is even an option to qualify for the playoff with a tie in Venezuela, but it depends on a big help from Paraguay, which would have to defeat Peru. And he would also have to wait for Chile not to beat Uruguay on the last date, in Santiago. In that case, Colombia would go to the playoffs with 21 points, the same as Peru, but better goal difference.
What Colombia cannot do, under any circumstances, is lose in Venezuela. I would plant at 20 points.
Colombia has never played the playoffs in the round robin system. It did do so in 1989, when it was first in its group, above Paraguay and Ecuador, but by draw, the winner of that zone had to face Israel. Thus he managed to return to the World Cup after 28 years of absence.
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