Brazil in late goal spree as Argentina tops

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil scored four late goals with a mixture of luck, brilliance and farce to complete a 5-0 drubbing of Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday.

Colombia played out its second goalless draw in three days, away to Bolivia, and Chile and Paraguay won at home to kick-start their campaigns in Wednesday's other South American games.

Chile beat neighbor Peru 2-0 in Santiago and Paraguay battled to a 1-0 win over Uruguay in Asuncion.

Argentina, 2-0 winner in Venezuela on Tuesday, was left as the only side with a maximum six points from two games in the single South American group.

Brazil and Paraguay have four each, followed by Uruguay, Chile and Venezuela three, Colombia two, Peru and Bolivia one and Ecuador none.

Playing its first home game in two years - first at the hallowed Maracana in seven - Brazil made heavy work of Ecuador for the first 70 minutes when only Vagner Love's 19th- minute goal separated the sides.

"The players were very anxious and perhaps this affected their performance in the first half," Brazil coach Dunga told reporters.

With Ecuador looking increasingly capable of snatching an equalizer and the crowd of 70,000 growing impatient, the game suddenly lurched in Brazil's direction.

The goal glut began with a fortuitous effort in the 73rd minute when Ronaldinho appeared to turn Kaka's apparently innocuous long-range effort into a goal.

Half clearance

That was followed by two moments of brilliance, the first from Kaka, who pounced on a half clearance and scored with a curling 30m shot into the top right-hand corner.

The second was Robinho's disconcerting dribble which sent him clear of Ulises de la Cruz to set up the fourth for substitute Elano.

Two minutes later came the farce as Kaka's apparently harmless 25m effort somehow slipped under Ecuador goalkeeper Daniel Viteri and into the net.

"I didn't see the goal because I shot very weakly and I turned my back," Kaka told Brazilian television.

The game was a far cry from events in La Paz where Bolivia and Colombia played out a goalless stalemate at 12,600 feet (3600m) above sea level, leaving both teams without a goal or win in the group.

Bolivia had midfielder Leonel Reyes sent off in the 66th minute.

Chile, beaten 2-0 by Argentina on Saturday, sank Peru with goals early in each half from Humberto Suazo and Matias Fernandez.

Mexico-based Suazo headed in from a corner and Villarreal's Fernandez scored after a clever lofted pass from Arturo Vidal sent him clear of the Peru defense.

"Today's was a convincing performance because it appears to me that Chile were clearly superior to our opponents," Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa said.

Paraguay's win over Uruguay in a typically hard-fought match came courtesy of a close-range goal from Borussia Dortmund's Nelson Haedo Valdez in the 15th minute after Salvador Cabanas burst down the left.

"I think we're on the way to something important," said Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino, whose team are attempting to reach a fourth successive World Cup.

Agencies

(China Daily 10/19/2007 page23)