While the coronavirus does not give truce in South America, the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup resume this week after an interruption of almost seven months with the leader Brazil and his Argentine escort focused on ensuring the classification as soon as possible. Others more urgent, such as Peru and Bolivia, have no room for another setback.
The last activity of the South American teams was in the double date of November, which left Brazil (12 units), followed by Argentina (10); Ecuador (9); Paraguay and Uruguay (6) as provisional owners of the four direct qualification spots for the World Cup and the fifth place that goes to the playoffs.
The qualifying rounds were to resume in March, but the refusal of the clubs in Europe and other confederations to give up the players due to the coronavirus pandemic then forced CONMEBOL to suspend the double day and adjust the calendar.
Coronavirus infections and injuries complicate the reunion of those selected and many coaches have to juggle to form the best team with a few days of training. This double date will also serve as a testing laboratory for the Copa América, which will apparently be played in Brazil from June 13 to July 10.
“This break affected all the South American teams. It is a reality that we would have preferred not to experience, ”said Tite, the Brazil coach. “But we will have to be able to move other instruments in order to keep our competitiveness high.”
La Canarinha will host the hard-working Ecuador of Argentine Gustavo Alfaro on Friday, a strategist who enjoys pragmatic football.
Tite had reopened the doors of the team to veteran defenders Dani Alves and Thiago Silva, the latter brand new champion of the Champions League with Chelsea. But both were ruled out due to injuries, the first with a right knee injury and the other with a muscle ailment.
On offense, on the other hand, the coach has plenty of Neymar, Gabriel Barbosa, Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Vinícius Júnior, Everton and Richarlison.
In Ecuador, Alfaro gave the chance to play for the nationalized Argentinean Ecuadorian Damián Díaz, the veteran midfielder from Barcelona de Guayaquil who just won his zone in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.
ARGENTINA-CHILE
Argentina, which resigned the organization of the Copa América two weeks after its start due to the health crisis, will host Chile (4 points) on Thursday, now under the command of Uruguayan Martín Lasarte.
The return of Sergio Agüero, Barcelona’s brand new addition, is the novelty in the Argentine side after injuries marginalized him from the last calls. His presence in the attack alongside captain Lionel Messi is not certain as coach Lionel Scaloni prefers Lautaro Martínez, Inter Milan’s gunner.
Two days before the game, Chile dismissed Arturo Vidal due to coronavirus. For the same reason, defender Paulo Díaz had been left out of the call.
The other first was the first call-up for forward Ben Brereton, 22, who plays for England’s Blackburn Rovers. He is the son of an English father and a Chilean mother.
URUGUAY-PARAGUAY
Uruguay will have to define who will accompany the gunner Luis Suárez in the attack to receive Paraguay due to the suspension of two dates that his partner Edison Cavani must pay.
“What is most missed about Edi when he is not here is what he means for the national team, what he gives when it comes to helping the team and also for the years that we have been, without looking at each other we know the movements of each one,” said Suárez, who reinvented himself after his traumatic departure from Barcelona and was decisive for Atlético de Madrid to be crowned champion of the Spanish league.
The historic Fernando Muslera returns to the arch after suffering a double fracture of the tibia and fibula more than a year ago.
La Albirroja will once again have one of its most unbalanced footballers, Miguel Almirón (Newcastle, England), who has completed the suspension date.
PERU-COLOMBIA
The return of Reinaldo Rueda to the Colombian bench (7) after a bitter passage through Chile has given rise to talk about the exclusion of star James Rodríguez in the pre-match with Peru in Lima.
After leaving captain Radamel Falcao out of the squad, the coach removed the English Everton footballer from the squad under the excuse that he is not in physical condition. James responded with a statement in which he expressed his disappointment with Rueda.
“I preferred to sacrifice not having him now, with all that it means, and not having him in a percentage that is not his great potential and what he has suffered with his club because he has to play and then stop three or four weeks. Let him get out of that vicious circle of that recidivism in so many injuries ”, argued Rueda in reference to the repeated injuries that damaged the playmaker’s career.
Peru (1) seeks to revive in the tie with the reappearance of Paolo Guerrero, the top scorer in its history, already recovered from a knee injury that had prevented him from starting the tie.
BOLIVIA-VENEZUELA
For its part, Bolivia (1) will try to get out of the basement of the table in La Paz against a Venezuela (3) diminished by injuries.
La Verde has not been able to focus on the game due to legal problems surrounding the presidency of the Bolivian Football Federation, in a conflict that resulted in the suspension of the local league.
In the Vinotinto, Josef Martínez reappears after recovering from a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that took him off the courts for a long time. Before the injury, the Atlanta United forward had resigned from the team due to differences with the previous manager, Rafael Dudamel.
In return, Venezuela will not be able to dispose of the midfielders Yeferson Soteldo and Yangel Herrera; forward José Salomón Rondón, the team’s top scorer with 31 goals, and defender Yordan Osorio due to various conditions.
The double day will be completed next week with Colombia-Argentina; Paraguay-Brazil; Ecuador-Peru; Venezuela-Uruguay and Chile-Bolivia. AP (HN)