Chile will look to solidify its standings in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers when it takes on last place Paraguay on Friday.
Last fall Chile was perched atop the CONMEBOL standings. Since then, the team has slowly fallen down the table to a tie for fourth place with Venezuela. The top four teams in the group book automatic passes to Brazil next summer while the fifth place squad must face-off against the fifth place AFC team to earn a World Cup spot.
Chile lost four straight games against Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru before ending the slide with a 1-0 win over Venezuela in March. The team is tied in goal differential with Venezuela but has scored more goals and won more games than their immediate rivals. Though Chile's immediate rival is Venezuela, other clubs such as Uruguay and Peru are within striking distance. Uruguay has 13 points while Peru has 11. While Chile, Venezuela, and Uruguay have all played 11 games, Peru has only competed in 10 matches and could pick up ground with a win over Ecuador on Friday.
Paraguay's quarterfinals berth in the World Cup 2010 finals is looking like a distant memory that will not return anytime soon. The club currently sits in last place with only eight points in 11 games. The squad can earn a maximum of 33 points if it managed to win the remaining five games; 24 points have been needed to clinch the fifth spot in the last two World Cup qualifiers. However, in those tournaments, the teams played two extra matches. In this iteration, Brazil is not among the squads competing for a berth since it is the tournament's host nation.
Prediction: Chile has more at stake in this match and will take down a weak Paraguay squad 4-1.
Start Time: 8:10 PM EST
TV: beinSport USA
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