Colombia - Paraguay

World Cup 2014 Qualifiers

The fight for a qualification position to the World Cup will probably go all the way to the wire between at least 6 teams, so none of them can afford to take a wrong step. Colombia is sitting on second place tied on points with Ecuador, one point behind leaders Argentina, but that position isn't very reassuring: a loss on Friday corroborated with other results, can see them dropping out of a direct qualification. So for sure, they won't take any chances against a Paraguay team in deep crisis. They have all their stars and big guns available, so we can expect players like Falcao, Freddy Guarin, Zapata and Yepes (AC Milan), and many other Europe-based players in the starting team. Loads of quality, and I can't see Colombia failing to make an impact in the World Cup with such a talented team. On the other hand, Paraguay must be at their lowest point in recent history. They are currently rock bottom with just 4 points from 7 matches, managing to beat only Ecuador and to snatch a point from Uruguay, one year ago. Ever since then, they have lost everything, including a home match with Venezuela last month. And things don't look like they are about to get better if we look at their squad. The defensive line is rather poor, as they won't be able to count on some veterans like Bonet, Veron, Manzur, Caceres or Aureliano Torres. Midfielder Edgar Barreto is also out, and the offensive line should also suffer without Cardozo and Santa Cruz. Basically, they will have to rely only on defenders Alcaraz and Da Silva, and on Barrios and Haedo Valdez in attack. They are poor, and don't have players who are able to win a match by themselves, and I really don't see them pulling any surprise in Colombia. GL!

Colombia (-1 AH) @ 1.92, 5/10
Result: 2-0, WON