Mexico Is Tied, 2-2, by Canada
Canada nearly moved back into contention for a World Cup ’98 berth, but allowed a goal with five minutes to play and was pushed to the brink of elimination with a 2-2 tie Sunday against Mexico at Edmonton.
Enrique Alfaro put Mexico ahead in the eighth minute, but Carlo Corazzin tied the score in the 55th and Alex Bunbury put Canada ahead in the 64th. Ramon Ramirez earned Mexico a point with a goal in the 85th minute.
Mexico (4-0-3), which could have clinched a berth with a victory, leads the final round of qualifying from the North and Central American and Caribbean region with 15 points and needs only one more point to reach France ’98. Its next game is against the United States in Mexico City on Nov. 2.
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In South America, Chile moved into prime position to get South America’s final spot in the ’98 World Cup, routing visiting Peru, 4-0, at Santiago behind three goals by Marcelo Salas.
With Argentina (8-2-5), Paraguay (9-4-2) and Colombia (8-4-3) already qualified, Chile (6-5-4) moved into fourth place with 22 points, ahead of Peru (6-5-4) on goal difference.
The top four South American teams advance to the 32-nation tournament in France along with Brazil, the defending champion.
Chile can clinch a berth with a victory at home against Bolivia on Nov. 16, and can also qualify with a tie or loss if Peru stumbles in its home game against Paraguay that day.
In other games, Ecuador (6-6-3) beat visiting Bolivia, 1-0, to keep its slim hopes alive; Uruguay (5-7-3) was eliminated with a scoreless tie at Argentina, and Paraguay beat Venezuela, 1-0.
