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Brazil one win from World Cup finals, showdown for Uruguay [Thu Sep 1st, 2005]
Rio de Janeiro (Reuters) - World champions Brazil will clinch their place at next year's finals in Germany and maintain their proud record as the only country to have played at every World Cup tournament if they beat Chile.
On the same evening, Uruguay, whose coach Jorge Fossati spent two days in hospital last week with chest pains, and Colombia meet in Montevideo in a showdown which the hosts must win to have a realistic chance of staying in the hunt.
Ecuador will take a big step towards their second successive World Cup if they can win in Bolivia, while Paraguay can give their hopes a boost by beating Argentina, who have already guaranteed their place.
With three rounds of matches to go in the marathon contest, Argentina lead the 10-nation group with 31 points from 15 games, followed by Brazil (27), Ecuador (23) and Paraguay (22).
The other teams in contention are Colombia and Chile (20) and Uruguay (18).
Venezuela and Peru (15) and Bolivia (13) appear to be out of the running.
The top four teams qualify directly and the fifth playoff against the Oceania region winners -- either Australia or the Soloman Islands -- for another place.
Brazil, the first defending champions ever to be denied automatic qualification to the following World Cup, are set to clinch their place in Brasilia after a long but relatively painless campaign in which they have lost only two games, away to Ecuador and Argentina.
Even if they do not beat Chile, they still have matches away to Bolivia and at home to Venezuela to pick up the points.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, a man of little mystery when it comes to team selections, has already named his side in which Ronaldo will partner Adriano in attack with Robinho just behind alongside Kaka.
Ronaldinho is suspended.
DEFENSIVE CHILE
Chile coach Nelson Acosta is expected to adopt an ultra-defensive approach with Sporting's Mauricio Pinilla as the lone attacker rather than Marcelo Salas, who is short of match practice.
Uruguay have included Inter Milan forward Alvaro Recoba in their squad for the match against Colombia which they know they cannot afford to lose on Sunday evening.
"It's a fundamental game and we have to look on it as a matter of life or death," said Real Madrid midfielder Pablo Garcia.
Recoba began a self-imposed exile in November last year after being jeered by Uruguay fans following an unhappy run of form for his country.
Paraguay are without injured striker Jose Cardozo, but are hopeful that Bayern Munich's Roque Santa Cruz can recover in time from a thigh strain to face Argentina in Asuncion.
Argentina are without strikers Hernan Crespo, who also has a thigh strain, and Luciano Galletti and Brazil-based midfielder Javier Mascherano.
Ecuador have spent one week acclimatising in La Paz, which lies at 3,600 metres above sea level, for their game.
Striker Agustin Delgado joined the squad on Tuesday after he was barred from leaving Quito with the rest of the squad in a bureaucratic mix-up, which immigration authorities later blamed on a computer error.
Venezuela and Peru complete the programme in Maracaibo with only mathematical chances of staying in the race.
Peru coach Freddy Ternero has omitted English-based Nolberto Solano and veteran midfielder Roberto Palacios from his squad.
However, Bayern Munich pair Claudio Pizarro and Paolo Guerrero are both included for the trip.
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