Ecuador Joins World Cup Club
The 2002 World Cup gained its third debutante Wednesday night when Ecuador qualified for soccer’s quadrennial world championship by tying Uruguay, 1-1, in Quito, Ecuador.
That result, combined with floundering Brazil’s 3-1 loss to Bolivia in La Paz, Bolivia, also secured Paraguay a place in the 32-nation field for the May 31-June 30 tournament in Japan and South Korea.
Ecuador, which had never before qualified for the World Cup, joins China and Senegal as the three newcomers on soccer’s biggest stage.
Ecuador needed only a tie to qualify, but Uruguay, a World Cup winner in 1930 and 1950, still is struggling to reach Korea/Japan 2002 and made it difficult for the home team. The Uruguayans took the lead on a penalty kick by Nicolas Olivera just before halftime and still were ahead with less than 20 minutes to play.
Alex Aguinaga entered in the 58th minute and it was the veteran playmaker who provided the pass from which Ivan Kaviedes headed in the tying goal in the 73rd minute to spark wild celebrations in the stadium.
The mood was much more somber in Brazil, where disbelieving fans reacted with anger to the four-time world champions’ latest setback. The 3-1 loss in La Paz means that Brazil has to win its final qualifying match, at home against Venezuela, or it will lose its unique record of being the only nation to take part in every World Cup since the first in 1930.
Shrugging off the effects of the high altitude, Brazilians appeared set for victory once Edilson hammered a left-foot shot from the top of the penalty area in the 25th minute.
Just before halftime, however, things began to unravel for Brazil when central defender Juan slipped and lost the ball to Bolivian forward Lider Paz, who fired a low shot past goalkeeper Marcos to tie the score. Julio Cesar Baldivieso scored twice for Bolivia in the second half.
The Brazilians, minus standout defender Roberto Carlos and strikers Elber and Luizao because of injury, wilted visibly in the second half and Bolivia, already eliminated from World Cup contention, took command.
With neither Brazil nor Uruguay managing a victory, Paraguay qualified for Korea/Japan 2002 even before its match tonight against Venezuela. The Paraguayans will be without their outspoken goalkeeper, Jose Luis Chilavert, however.
Chilavert on Wednesday was suspended for four games by FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, for spitting in Roberto Carlos’ face when Brazil defeated Paraguay, 2-0, in August.
Chilavert was unmoved by FIFA’s ban.
“I don’t regret what I did,” he said. “On the contrary, I would do it again because Robert Carlos insisted on offending me ... my family, my mother. I couldn’t stand it anymore and I spit on him. In reality, he deserved to have his face broken.”
Meanwhile, Colombia kept its faint World Cup hopes alive by defeating Chile, 3-1, in Bogota.
Japan and three-time world champion Italy played to a 1-1 tie in front of 61,833 in Saitama, Japan, where traffic problems hinted at World Cup difficulties ahead.
Atsushi Yanagisawa gave Japan the lead after 10 minutes, but Cristiano Doni, making his Italian national team debut, tied it six minutes into the second half. Afterward, Italy Coach Giovanni Trapattoni said FIFA would need to address traffic problems that saw the Italian team require two hours to travel 40 miles to the stadium, despite having a police escort.
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World Cup Qualifying
ALREADY IN
Africa: Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Asia: China, Japan (co-host), Saudi Arabia, South Korea (co-host)
CONCACAF: Costa Rica, United States
Europe: Croatia, Denmark, England, France (defending champion), Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden
South America: Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay
UP NEXT
Key games to be played through the weekend:
CONCACAF
Honduras at Mexico, Sunday, 10 a.m.--Winner takes all in this battle of two teams tied for the third and final berth given to North and Central American teams. Mexico, with a better goal differential, would advance with a tie.
United States at Trinidad and Tobago, Sunday, 11 a.m.--The U.S. returns to the site where a qualifying victory in 1990 boosted it to the finals. This time, a berth is already assured.
EUROPE
The final four or five qualifiers will be determined by two-game series among group runners-up, with the first games to be played Saturday:
* Czech Republic at Belgium
* Germany at Ukraine
* Turkey at Austria
* Slovenia at Romania
A fifth series pits Ireland against Iran, the fifth-place team from Asian qualifying, opening Saturday in Ireland.
