Conmebol World Cup Qualifying Round-up: Christian Benitez shines as Ecuador down Peru

Round four of the Conmebol qualifiers took place on Tuesday as Reinaldo Rueda's men looked stellar in a dominant home victory

16 Nov 2011 09:46:00

By Roger Gonzalez

More On :  Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Cristian Benitez - Ecuador
-
Colombia
 1-2 Argentina


Second half strikes from Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero saw Argentina down Colombia in Barranquilla.
Ecuador
 2-0 Peru

Two second-half goals saw the Ecuadorians secure three points against Peru in Quito as Christian Benitez stole the show.

After a goalless first half in which each team had chances to open the scoring, Edison Mendez finally found the net in the 69th minute on the counter. Benitez gained the ball at midfield, darting down the centre of the pitch with the Emelec star on the right before playing the ball to Mendez after invading the box, and the winger finished from close to put his nation up.

Then, two minutes from time, Benitez scored with an easy finish after Jaime Ayovi darted down the entire right side of the pitch before sending in a cross that found the Tigres attacker alone in front of goal.

With the victory, Ecuador now have six points and are one behind leaders Uruguay and Argentina. Peru have three points from three games and sit in the bottom half of the table.


Chile
 v
 Paraguay

The 2011 Copa America runners-up look to jump to the top of the South American qualification table with a victory against Claudio Borghi's dangerous team, who look to rebound from a 4-0 loss to Uruguay. The contest will start at 11:30 GMT.

Venezuela
 v Bolivia

Cesar Farias' men continue their quest to clinch their first ever World Cup birth when they play host to the Bolivians, who are coming off a 1-1 draw in Buenos Aires against Argentina. The game will begin at 01:00 GMT.

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Some more from 'WELBZ': "To get my first England goal in that way, obviously I'm really delighted and it's a massive honour.

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So, judging from those tweets, people aren't too confident on Portugal qualifying from their group. Who will qualify from each group? Let me know on Twitter.
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Into the final few minutes with Portugal still 2-1 down to Turkey. Cristiano Ronaldo missed his second ever penalty for Portugal earlier on.
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