Uruguay pip Peru to seal Qatar spot

Montevideo – Giorgian de Arrascaeta (right) sent Uruguay to the World Cup with the only goal of the game against Peru on Thursday, a result that also booked Ecuador’s ticket to Qatar, with a helping hand from Brazil.

Ecuador slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Paraguay but still qualified for a World Cup for the just the fourth time – all this century – thanks to Uruguay’s victory and already-qualified Brazil’s 4-0 win over Chile.

Nineteen teams have now qualified for the finals in Qatar later this year, with 13 spots still available.

With Argentina, who played Venezuela last night, also already qualified, Peru and Chile will now vie for the fifth-place inter-continental play-off spot from the single South American qualification group alongside Colombia, who emphatically ended a seven-match goalless streak with a 3-0 win over Bolivia.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for Uruguay since a disastrous spell at the end of last year when they lost four matches in a row, conceding 11 goals, scoring just one and slipping to seventh in the 10-team group.

That spelled the end for iconic coach Oscar Tabarez, who spent a record 15 years at the helm and guided the “Celeste” to a World Cup semifinal in 2010 and Copa America title a year later.

But his successor Diego Alonso has won three out of three and taken Uruguay – winners in 1930 and 1950 – to a fourth straight finals.

De Arrascaeta blasted home a rebound three minutes before half-time after Luis Suarez saw a shot crash back off the woodwork.

Federico Valverde almost made it two soon after the break, slamming a stunning swerving 40-yard shot onto the bar.

There were some jangling nerves very late on, though, as Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet was almost caught out by Miguel Trauco’s looping mis-hit cross.

VAR had to check and Rochet had kept the ball from crossing the line, but there were barely millimetres in it. –