Colombia beat Paraguay 1-0

Asuncion:

With Uruguay winning 1-0 against Argentina on Wednesday, Colombia's success by the same margin in Paraguay was something of a hollow victory. For Reinaldo Rueda's men to clinch that all-important fifth place in the South American World Cup qualifying standings - and a play-off against Australia - a Uruguayan victory made all permutations irrelevant. But they signed off in style, withstanding a lively Paraguayan attack and a hostile, missile-throwing crowd to record a 1-0 win in Asuncion courtesy of Luis Rey's eighth minute goal. Uruguay had to be narrow favourites to progress. They were holding a one point lead - though they were facing leaders Argentina in Montevideo. So the brief was simple for both Chile and Colombia - play to win, regardless of what Diego Forlan and crowd were doing. Swift riposte Judging by the opening few minutes in Asuncion, Colombia looked on course for a hiding, as a Paraguayan side that had already secured a berth in Germany looked anything but a team intent on taking things easy. Against the run of play though, a swift riposte and the visitors took an eighth minute lead through Luis Rey. And following that - a rapid return to Paraguayan pressure and a number of near-misses. Why some in the 25,000 crowd lost their cool remains to be seen. Forced to halt But Brazilian referee Marcio Rezende was forced to halt the game three times because of fans throwing debris on the field. Paraguay dominated - Jose Cardozo coming closest to clawing back an equaliser in the second half. But it was Colombia who left with the three points. And nothing more. Alvaro Recobo's goal secured a 1-0 win for Uruguay against the Argentinians. Juan Pablo Angel and his colleagues will now have to content themselves with watching next year's World Cup tournament on the television. (AP)