Uruguay, who were on top of South American football just this past summer, are now on the verge of failing to qualify for the World Cup. The World Cup semifinalists and Copa America champions, who were once top of the qualifying table, have failed to win in five straight games. With their 2-0 loss to Chile on Tuesday, they're in fifth place, pending Venezuela's result against Colombia. Peru, who have a game in hand, can overtake Uruguay next round.
Chile vs. Uruguay, 2014 World Cup qualifying: Final score 2-0, Roja notch huge win
Uruguay are in serious trouble in World Cup qualifying after they came up short for the fifth straight match.
It's taken a few matches for Chile to fully adapt to the subtle changes that new coach Jorge Sampaoli has made, but they were at their best all night on Tuesday. Esteban Paredes scored the game's first goal after just 11 minutes, taking advantage of some shambolic defending. A bad miscontrol by Matias Aguirregaray made the chance possible, and Alvaro Pereira botched his attempt at a clearance on Charles Aranguiz's cross, allowing Paredes to score.
Chile sealed their win in the 78th minute, with a chance set up by Matias Fernandez. He found Mauricio Isla with a through ball, but the right back's shot was saved by Fernando Muslera. Uruguay's defense did nothing to help him, leaving the ball sitting in the penalty area for Eduardo Vargas to pounce on and finish off.
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