"We are not thinking about losing and we need to go out and play the way we always do. That means not defending deep, taking the game to our opponents and attacking whenever we can. The only good result for us is a win." -Paulo Da Silva, Paraguay defenderIn the day's marquee CONMEBOL qualifier, the top two teams in the standings faced off in rainy Buenos Aires. Paraguay grabbed an early advantage on a very silly own goal (the theme of the day) by the Argentines, scored when the Argentine goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri ran into his own defender. To add insult to injury, Abbondanzieri had to be replaced because he could not continue. To add to the uphill climb, Carlos Tévez was ejected for his second yellow card in just the thirty-first minute. (Paraguay had four yellows to Argentina's three) Miraculously, the Paraguayans did not put Argentina away when the had the chance. A beautiful two-on-three fastbreak was converted by Argentina in the second half to salvage a 1-1 draw. Keep in mind that the Paraguayans accomplished this tie without Roque Santa Cruz or Salvador Cabañas. Paraguay remain in first with fourteen points, and Argentina stay in second with twelve.
Bolivia traveled to Quito after scoring their first win of qualifying against Paraguay during Match Day Six. Ecuador were not about to let themselves be upset at home, however, and they received a lot of help from the stupidity of Bolivia's Jesus Gómez, who took two yellows and was gone by the eighteenth minute. Ecuador quickly scored their first, but conceded a goal at the end of the half and dejectedly walked off the field tied at one. In the second half, the Ecuadorians took advantage of a fatigued Bolivian ten and scored two goals for a 3-1 victory.
Uruguay went to Bogotá with the hopes of winning and overtaking Colombia in the standings in spite of being on the road. With goal scored at the quarter-hour mark, the Uruguayans held a 1-0 advantage as they went into the locker room. Colombia were unable to score, a woe that has plagued them throughout the qualification process, and Uruguay won the match 1-0 to move into third place in the standings a day before Chile face Brazil.
Venezuela visited Perú and were hoping to take at least one point from Lima against a team that had yet to win a single match in the 2010 qualification cycle. Venezuela failed miserably in that respect, generating absolutely nothing offensively and making their decision to fire Richard Paez more questionable by the day. Perú savored their first victory after putting away the game's only score toward the end of the first half. They did so despite the abscence of both Jefferson Farfán and Claudio Pizarro.
Goal scorers:
Paraguay: Heinze 13 OG (Argentina)
Argentina: Agüero 61
Ecuador: Caicedo 21; E. Méndez 51 PK; Benitez 72
Bolivia: Botero 40
Uruguay: Eguren 15
Perú: Alva Niezen 39
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