The Hindu : Sport : Argentina qualifies for 2006 World Cup

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 10, 2005

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Argentina qualifies for 2006 World Cup

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina qualified for its ninth successive World Cup with a sweet 3-1 defeat of arch-rival Brazil on Wednesday.

The Argentines joined Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea as the first nations to qualify for next year's finals, along with host Germany, an automatic qualifier in the 32-nation field.

Two goals from striker Hernan Crespo led Argentina. Crespo scored in the third and 39th minutes, and Juan Roman Riquelme added another in the 18th in a showdown between the two powerhouses, winners of seven World Cup championships. Roberto Carlos scored Brazil's goal in the 71st.

Argentina, World Cup winner in 1978 and 1986, stretched its lead of the 10-team South American qualifying group to 31 points after 15 rounds, with defending champion Brazil second on 27, Ecuador third with 23, followed by Paraguay at 22. Three rounds remain.

Also, Colombia rolled over visiting Ecuador 3-0, Paraguay bounced back at home from a heavy defeat to Brazil by pounding Bolivia 4-1, and host Chile held off Venezuela 2-1 on Wednesday.

Ploy works to perfection

Argentina duped Brazil into believing it would cruise at the Monumental stadium in downtown Buenos Aires. After Brazil crushed Paraguay 4-1 on Sunday without Ronaldo, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said Brazil was ``99.9 per cent qualified,'' and Argentina played it up after a second-string side lost 2-0 in Ecuador. Colombia was untroubled at Barranquilla, while Ecuador buckled in 40-degree heat coming down from altitude and its 2-0 upset of Argentina on Saturday.

Tressor Moreno scored two goals within the first nine minutes, and Martin Arzuaga completed the rout with another in the 70th. Juan Pablo Angel set up the last two goals.

Colombia's fine run

After crunching Peru 5-0 on Saturday, Colombia has scored eight goals without conceding any in four days, indicating the rapid turnaround in fortune under former under-20 coach Reinaldo Rueda, who was appointed in January. Since then, the team has won twice, drawn once, and lost to Argentina 1-0, but more importantly returned to qualifying contention.

Paraguay returned home to Asuncion from a 4-1 spanking to Brazil to hand out the same punishment to Bolivia. Carlos Gamarra's early header was quickly tied by Gonzalo Galindo's 25-metre blast for Bolivia, but Roque Santa Cruz broke the deadlock, and Julio Cesar and Jorge Nunez completed the rout before 17,000 happy fans at Defensores del Chaco stadium.

Chile stayed in the finals hunt and all but extinguished Venezuela's hopes in a comfortable 2-1 win in Santiago. Luis Jimenez scored both of Chile's goals both sides of halftime, and Venezuela couldn't score until Ruberth Moran's header eight minutes from the end. — AP

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