Paraguay Continues to Pace South America's World Cup Qualification

Paraguay continues to take the old approach of one match at a time, and the persistence has paid off as the nation sits in first with 20 points in the South American qualification table for World Cup 2010.

Paced by such players Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), Claudio Morel (Boca Juniors), and Jonathan Santana (VfL Wolfsburg), Paraguay rests a full four points ahead of continent heavyweights Brazil and Argentina. 

And with Wednesday’s home match against cellar-dweller Peru, Paraguay looks certain to end the 10th qualification round with 23 points overall.

Other Round 10 matches:

Bolivia hosts Uruguay in La Paz. Joaquín Botero paces Bolivia with five goals in qualification. Uruguay sits fifth in the table and must fight the altitude for a crucial three points.

Chile hosts Argentina in Santiago. Humberto Suazo has four goals for Chile. Juan Román Riquelme leads the Argentine attack with four goals.

Brazil hosts Colombia in Rio de Janeiro. Luís Fabiano and Kaká each have four goals for Brazil. Colombia sits seventh in the table and must come away from the match with a draw.

Venezuela hosts Ecuador in Puerto la Cruz. Giancarlo Maldonado (Venezuela) and Edison Méndez (Ecuador) both have three goals.