Asuncion - Paraguay beat Venezuela by a comfortable 2-0 Tuesday in Asuncion to remain alone atop South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In the 28th minute, Cristian Riveros put the host ahead, while Nelson Haedo Valdez made things 2-0 just before half-time.
After eight rounds of the qualifiers, Paraguay have 17 points.
Brazil and Argentina are on 12 points and
Uruguay on 11, though they all have a game in hand. Colombia and
Chile have 10 points, also from seven rounds of play.
Wednesday is set to feature Uruguay versus Ecuador, Chile vs Colombia, Brazil vs
Bolivia and
Peru vs Argentina.
In South America's 10-team World Cup qualifiers, each side plays at home and away with each of the other nine teams. The top four win a place in the World Cup, with the fifth-place team facing a representative of the North, Central American and Caribbean region in a playoff for a spot.
