The chances of two-time World Cup champions Argentina failing to make the World Cup finals for the first time since 1970 shortened on Wednesday as they were beaten 1-0 by Paraguay in Asuncion which saw the victors reach their eighth finals.
The defeat will inevitably raise further questions over the stewardship of coach Diego Maradona - an Argentinian playing icon for his inspiring them to the 1986 trophy and to the 1990 final - as the Argentineans slipped to fifth in the table with just two matches remaining to seal one of the two remaining automatic qualifying places.
However, despite having individual talents on the pitch such as Lionel Messi, Maradona also either left out of the squad entirely or deigned not to put on the bench Lisandro Lopez, Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel to name but three of several. "I am not afraid of criticism. I am afraid of nobody. I am doing my job, I have my team and I am going to go forward," said Maradona, who has overseen four defeats in his six World Cup qualifiers since taking over.
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