South American giants Argentina and Brazil both failed to beat lowly-ranked opponents in South American zone World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday. The Argentinians looked set for a first win in five qualifying games after Esteban Cambiasso had put them 1-0 up with eight minutes to go away to struggling Peru.
But deep into injury time the home side hit back to equalise through Johan Fano as he latched on to a long through ball from Juan Vargas. Brazil, fresh from their 3-0 triumph away to Chile at the weekend, found the goal-trail hard to find at home to bottom-dogs Bolivia and had to settle for a humbling 0-0 draw.
Group leaders Paraguay had already posted a 2-0 win over Venezuela on Tuesday and they are now in pole position to qualify with 17 points from eight games, four points clear of Brazil, Argentina and Chile who rebounded with a stunning 4-0 home win over Colombia.
In Wednesday's final game, Uruguay, played out a disappointing 0-0 home draw against Ecuador but still held on to fifth place. The top four clubs will qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa with the fifth-placed team going into a two-leg playoff against the fourth-placed team in the CONCACAF zone.
Brazil coach Dunga and star midfielder Ronaldino both said they fully understood the fans angry reaction to the poor 0-0 draw against Bolivia. "The fans are always in the right - our team just didn't function well at all," Dunga said. "It's completely normal for the fans to react like that," Ronaldinho said. "They came to see us win.
Brazil has great players but we are lacking in consistency just now." The Brazilians will next go up against Venezuela in Caracas next month, while Argentina take on neighbours Uruguay in Buenos Aires. Paraguay travel to Colombia.