Vargas and Chile suffer setback in World Cup qualification

The Copa America winners have fallen to seventh in the South American qualifying table after seven matches. Only the top four teams qualify directly but fifth place has a chance to make it to the tournament through winning an intercontinental play-off.

Vargas played the full 90 minutes but couldn’t stop Chile suffering defeat in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion. The hosts took the lead through Oscar Romero’s opener in the 6th minute and doubled their advantage a few minutes later as Paulo da Silva got in the act. FC Bayern’s Arturo Vidal pulled one back in the 36th minute but they struggled to push on from there in a heated contest that included six yellow cards and a red for Chile’s Gary Medel following two bookable offences.  

The qualification campaign will continue for Vargas and his team in the coming week when they host Bolivia at the Santiago de Chile. A win is almost a necessity for Chile who can’t afford to lose more ground in the qualification for the World Cup.