Uruguay made a dominant start and Argentina also notched a win when South America's World Cup qualifying tournament kicked off on Saturday.
Uruguay crushed Bolivia 5-0, a Juan Roman Riquelme brace gave Argentina a 2-0 win over Chile and Venezuela caused the first upset by winning 1-0 away in Ecuador. Peru and Paraguay played out a scoreless draw. Colombia were to host Brazil yesterday.
Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan, Sebastian Abreu, Vicente Sanchez and Carlos Buenos all scored for two-time World Cup champions Uruguay as the race began for a place at South Africa 2010.
Suarez gave the hosts the lead in the fourth minute at the Centenario with a right-footed shot. Forlan made it 2-0 in the 37th with a firmly hit shot.
Bolivia's hopes of stemming the tide suffered when Ronald Garcia was sent off four minutes before half time. Abreu scored Uruguay's third goal off a rebound inside the area just two minutes into the second half.
Sanchez scored in the 65th and Bueno added another in the 82nd.
Uruguay visits Paraguay on Wednesday, while Bolivia hosts Colombia.
In Buenos Aires, Riquelme scored free-kicks in the 26th and 45th minutes in Argentina's victory.
The Villareal playmaker placed precise shots past goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to the left upper corner of the net each time.
"For us it was important to begin the series by winning. The team is playing well right now and we deservedly won," Riquelme said. "We are happy with how we are playing ... I believe we are capable of continue to win this way."
Chile exerted heavy early pressure, closely marking forwards Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, limiting their effectiveness.
And Chile came close to scoring, first off the boot of Arturo Vidal in the fourth minute and again in the 15th off a powerful kick by Humberto Suazo. On both occasion, Argentine goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri blocked clear chances at goals.
Argentine started to power up as Tevez threatened in the area after a pass from Riquelme in the first period that he just couldn't capitalize on. Maxi Rodriguez also had another scoring chance in the 31st minute, his shot sizzling just wide of the left upright.
Chile's veteran striker Marcelo Salas came on at halftime and soon had a scoring chance four minutes into the half but was called offside as he approached Abbondanzieri in a one-on-one situation.
In the 54th minute, Cristian Alvarez was sent off, but Chile continued attacking, with Suazo and Salas threatening the Argentine net.
Argentina will play its next match Tuesday against Venezuela in Maracaibo while Chile welcomes Peru in Santiago in its upcoming match next week.
In Quito, Venezuela won away at a sluggish Ecuador thanks to a 77th minute freekick by Jose Manuel Rey.
Ecuador tired after missing clear shots in the first half. Forward Cristian Benitez failed to cash in on two good opportunities early in the match.
Ecuador reached the second round in last year's World Cup in Germany, but were eager to redeem themselves after a first-round exit at the Copa America in June and July, while Venezuela are chasing a first ever World Cup appearance.
In Lima, aside from one shot by Peru forward Claudio Pizarro, blocked by goalkeeper Justo Villar in the 17th minute, Paraguay's solid defense gave Peru few scoring chances.
Paraguay dominated the second half but were unable to score. Forward Nelson Haedo had a clumsy shot saved and was replaced by Oscar Cardozo for pain in his right shoulder.
Peru next face Chile in Santiago on Oct. 17, when Paraguay host Uruguay.
An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said yesterday. Zhang Zhijie was playing a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed. “Medical conclusions ... indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest,” Broto Happy, spokesman for
Taiwan will have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) and her older sister Latisha Chan (詹詠然) officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association said Thursday. According to the association, the International Tennis Federation confirmed Wednesday evening the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they will join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and Tsao Chia-yi (曹家宜) to compete in the quadrennial sports jamboree. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)
Taiwan’s men’s national basketball team is set to upgrade its depth in the paint after signing Brandon Gilbeck of the P.League+’s Formosa Dreamers to a naturalized player’s contract. The 27-year-old big man from the US landed in Taoyuan early on Monday, where he was welcomed by Chinese Taipei Basketball Association deputy secretary-general Chang Cheng-chung. The two signed the deal, which still has to be approved by the Sports Administration and the Ministry of the Interior. Chang said he is confident that “the proceedings would go smoothly.” If approved, Gilbeck would become the third naturalized basketball player in Taiwan, following the New Taipei Kings’ Quincy
ONE GAME LEFT: ‘We 100 percent believe that this is the team,’ Kagiso Rabada said when asked if this team could end South Africa’s long World Cup drought A long, tortuous World Cup title drought is closer than ever to ending for South Africa after a nine-wicket win over first-time semi-finalist Afghanistan at the global T20 World Cup cricket tournament on Wednesday. Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada set the foundations for the lopsided victory with destructive opening bursts of pace bowling to have Afghanistan reeling at 20-4 in the fourth over, and eventually all out for a paltry 56. The South Africans lost just one wicket in pursuit of its first semi-final win at a global men’s limited-overs tournament, with Reeza Hendricks hitting a six and a four on consecutive