Argentina 2, Peru 1: "The Miracle Of San Palermo"

Argentina's hopes for qualifying for South Africa were fading under the torrential rains drowning El Monumental. Hernan Rengifo's 89th minute goal put Peru level with Argentina, sending Argentina, the entire nation, and embattled head coach Diego Maradona into despair. A draw would further diminsh Argentina's chances of qualifying, already adding to the national state of crushing anxiety.

Then stepped in Martin Palermo, to keep Argentina's World Cup hopes alive.

A frenzied, last-gasp attack saw the ball bounced in the penalty area from attacker to defender to attacker to defender, until the ball found the open boot of Martin Palermo. GOAL! And with it, the breath of a collective sigh of relief of an anxious nation.

Argentina's dream of qualification live for another day, furthered by the good news that Uruguay's 2-1 defeat of Ecuador, in high-altitute Quito, no less, meant Argentina now claims the fourth spot in the qualification table. A showdown on Wednesday with Uruguay now looms; a win for Argentina, and they've punched their ticket for South Africa.

The Argentina press is calling Palermo's goal a "miracle," and if Argentina do indeed qualify for South Africa, everyone will look to the Boca Juniors' striker's penchant for being at the right place at the right time.

What seemed to be a desperate choice by Maradona, calling up the 36-year-old Palermo to the national side he last played for a decade ago, now seemed like inspired genius. Palermo's recent scintillating play with Boca, not to mention his brace against a weak Ghana squad in a meaningless friendly, suggested Palermo could be exactly the scoring talisman Argentina needed right now.

Whether Palermo makes it to South Africa with the rest of the squad, assuming Argentina does indeed qualify, remains to be seen, but it will be his "miracle" of being in the right place at the right time that all of Argentina will point to. An entire nation fell into prayer on its' collective knees, and "San Palermo" emphatically and loudly answered their prayers.

As for the match itself, it was yet another example of how Argentina failed to play up to its' strength, so much so that they practically begged a hapless Peru to beat them. In the march up to the match, the Peruvian squad, especially sweeper Carlos Zambrano, openly relished its' role as the spoiler, eager to defeat Argentina in their home turf.

Despite taking control of the match, especially after first-time call-up Gonzalo Higuain's spectacular goal in the 47th minute, Argentina's defensive weaknesses, compounded by Maradona's insistence on a 4-3-1-2 formation, gave Peru several odd-man opportunities.

Maradona committed the classic mistake of wanting to sit on a lead, punctuated by his substitution of Higuain for left back Martin DeMichelis. It wasn't long before Peru finally converted on their chances.

On the other hand, Argentina's 3-1-2 front formation showed imagination. Pablo Aimar, who hadn't suited up for Argentina since the 2007 Copa America, provided Argentina with the firm leadership in the midfield that was normally the exclusive domain of Juan Roman Riquelma, and Angel DiMaria and Jonas Gutierrez formed a partnership along with Higuain that produced several strong scoring chances.

Yet, once again, ball possession and scoring chances did not produce goals.

Most troubling, once again, was both the on-field absence of Lio Messi and their lack of organization. Maradona again could neither inspire nor correct their lack of continuity.

Right now, Argentina does seem to control its' own destiny, something they haven't been able to achieve until now. A win against Uruguay, in Montevideo, and they've sealed up the fourth spot and their ticket to South Africa. A draw with Uruguay, and if Ecuador doesn't defeat Chile by more than four goals, and they've sealed up their spot in the World Cup.

Should Argentina lose, the best scenario would be a playoff versus the fourth-place CONCACAF team; the worst case scenario would be for Ecuador to win, leaving Argentina out altogether.

Another miracle may be in the cards for Argentina. It's up to the entire squad, Palermo included, to see to it that the miracle comes true.