| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 October 2007 – 14 October 2009 |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 90 |
| Goals scored | 232 (2.58 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,301,363 (36,682 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Humberto Suazo (10 goals) |
The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw ten teams competing for places in the finals in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL. Matches were scheduled so that there were always two games within a week, which was aimed at minimizing player travel time, particularly for players who were based in Europe.
The top four teams in the final standings qualified automatically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fifth-placed team met the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in a two-legged play-off for a place at the World Cup.[1]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  | | .svg.png){kind=small} |  |  | .svg.png){kind=small} |  | .svg.png){kind=small} | .svg.png){kind=small} | .svg.png){kind=small} | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 11 | +22 | 34 | Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup | — | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Chile | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 33 | 0–3 | — | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Paraguay | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 33 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Argentina | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 28 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 5 | Uruguay | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 24 | Advance to inter-confederation play-offs | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 | |
| 6 | Ecuador | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 23 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | ||
| 7 | Colombia | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 23 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 8 | Venezuela | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 22 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | — | 5–3 | 3–1 | ||
| 9 | Bolivia | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 15 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–0 | ||
| 10 | Peru | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 34 | −23 | 13 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — |
On 24 November 2008, FIFA suspended the Peruvian Football Federation from all international competition due to governmental interference in its operations.[2] The suspension was lifted on 20 December 2008.[3]
Results
The round-by-round fixtures were same as the 2006 qualifying tournament.
Round 1
| Argentina | 2–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
Riquelme  27', 45' | Report |
Round 2
| Brazil | 5–0 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Vágner Love 19' Ronaldinho 71'Kaká 77', 85'Elano 83' | Report |
Round 3
| Argentina | 3–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Agüero 40' Riquelme 56', 74' | Report |
Round 4
| Venezuela | 5–3 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Arismendi 20', 40' Guerra 81'Maldonado 89', 90+1' | Report | Martins 19', 77' Arce 27' |
| Brazil | 2–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Luís Fabiano 45', 64' | Report | Abreu 9' |
Round 5
| Paraguay | 2–0 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz 26' Cabañas 49' | Report |
| Argentina | 1–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Palacio 90+3' | Report | Urrutia 69' |
Round 6
| Brazil | 0–0 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Round 7
| Argentina | 1–1 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Agüero 60' | Report | Heinze 13' (o.g.) |
| Chile | 0–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Luís Fabiano 21', 83' Robinho 45' |
Round 8
| Brazil | 0–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Round 9
| Argentina | 2–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Messi 6' Agüero 13' | Report | Lugano 40' |
| Venezuela | 0–4 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kaká 6' Robinho 10', 67'Adriano 19' |
Round 10
Round 11
| Argentina | 4–0 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Messi 26' Tevez 47'Rodríguez 51'Agüero 73' | Report |
| Ecuador | 1–1 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Noboa 89' | Report | Júlio Baptista 72' |
Round 12
| Bolivia | 6–1 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Martins 12' Botero 34' (pen.), 55', 66'Da Rosa 45'Torrico 87' | Report | González 25' |
| Brazil | 3–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Luís Fabiano 18' (pen.), 27' Melo 64' | Report |
Round 13
| Uruguay | 0–4 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Dani Alves 12' Juan 36'Luís Fabiano 52'Kaká 75' (pen.) |
| Argentina | 1–0 | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| Díaz 56' | Report |
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
| Argentina | 2–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Higuaín 48' Palermo 90+2' | Report | Rengifo 89' |
Round 18
Inter-confederation play-offs
The team from fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round (Costa Rica) entered into a home and away play-off against the team which finished fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group (Uruguay). The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.[4]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Costa Rica  | 1–2 | Uruguay | 0–1 | 1–1 |
Qualified teams
The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Winners | 5 September 2009 | 18 (all) (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Chile | Runners-up | 10 October 2009 | 7 (1930, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1998) |
| Paraguay | Third place | 9 September 2009 | 7 (1930, 1950, 1958, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Argentina | Fourth place | 14 October 2009 | 14 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Uruguay | CONCACAF v CONMEBOL play-off winners | 18 November 2009 | 10 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 234 goals scored in 92 games, for an average of 2.54 goals per game (Costa Rica's single goal in the inter-confederation play-offs not included).
- 10 goals
- 9 goals
- 8 goals
- 7 goals
- 6 goals
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- 1 own goal
Notes
This was the first time that Argentina lost more than 2 or 4 matches and has not finished as leader (1st) or runner-up (2nd) of their qualifying group, during a FIFA World Cup qualification.
References
- ^ FIFA.com Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Suspension of the Peruvian FA". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 November 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
- ^ "Combined bidding confirmed". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 20 December 2008. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- ^ Intercontinental play-off dates confirmed Archived 2009-06-14 at the Wayback Machine