Argentina pray to football gods
two-time world champions outside the automatic qualification places as they head into the final round of fixtures next Tuesday.
It was another desperately disappointing display by Argentina, who once again struggled to turn a wealth of possession into goals.
Barcelona star Messi hit the post in the second half but could only watch in frustration after serving up a stream of chances for teammates who failed to convert.
The result left Argentina in sixth place in the standings. The first four teams qualify automatically, with the fifth-placed team advancing to a playoff against New Zealand in November.
But with only two points separating third-placed Chile and seventhParaguay, the final standings could change dramatically depending on results on Tuesday.
The margin for error for Argentina, however, has narrowed after their latest setback, their third consecutive draw of a faltering qualification campaign. Argentina’s final qualifier is a challenging away trip to Ecuador in the thin air of Quito.
However a victory on Tuesday would guarantee Argentina at least fifth place in the standings, with Peru and Colombia guaranteed to drop points against each other in their final game.
Brazil, who have already qualified in first place, were held to a 0-0 draw by eliminated Bolivia in La Paz earlier Thursday. Uruguay, who are second with 28 points from 17 games, missed the chance to book their place in Russia after being frustrated 0-0 away at Venezuela.
South American champions Chile, meanwhile, resurrected their qualification hopes with a thrilling 2-1 win over Ecuador in Santiago.
Striker Eduardo Vargas drilled in a low shot on 22 minutes to put the Copa America champions 1-0 up.
But Alex Ibarra equalised in the 82nd minute for Ecuador to silence the home crowd.
But with Chile’s fans to digest Ibarra’s still struggling strike, the hosts went back up the other end through Alexis Sanchez. The win saw Chile climb from sixth to third in the standings. Chile will qualify automatically if they are able to beat Brazil in their final game next week.
In Barranquilla, Colombia crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay.
Radamel Falcao scored with a deft lob to put Colombia 1-0 ahead in the 79th minute. But the Colombians were twice caught on the break by Paraguay.
Oscar Cardozo bundled in the equaliser for Paraguay in the 89th minute and then Tony Sanabria punished poor goalkeeping by David Ospina to poke in a second in injury time to clinch the win. — AFP