Brazil Qualifies; Argentina on the Brink

In perhaps the year's least surprising world soccer news -- Brazil has qualified for the 2010 World Cup. The five-time World Cup champs punched their ticket thanks to a 3-1 victory at Argentina late Saturday night featuring brace by Luis Fabiano.

Slightly more surprising, Brazil's all-time rival Argentina finds itself dangling ever-so-close to the precipice after that defeat in Rosario. The look coach Diego Maradona's face in the video posted above pretty much says it all for the Albicelestes these days.

Saturday night and into Sunday it was a mostly doom-and-gloom forecast for Argentina by the media. And while losing to Brazil, at home no less, is never a good thing for Argentina, it actually could be a whole lot worse.

Even with Saturday's loss Argentina still sits fourth in the CONMEBOL table, meaning it would get one of the automatic berths and avoid a playoff with the fourth-place CONCACAF team. Argentina still holds a two-point lead over both Columbia and Ecuador.

In fact, the bigger story out of South America Saturday should have been Columbia beating Ecuador 2-0 or more stunning, Uruguay dropping a 1-0 result at last-place Peru.

All these other results don't mask over Argentina's lukewarm display vs. Brazil, in particular it's phantom marking on Luisão in the 24th minute. Yet it seems the worldwide media is quick to pounce on Maradona. Granted he hasn't been the most effective coach on the planet, with his strategy revolving somewhere in the realm of tossing Lionel Messi on the field and hoping for the best. Let's not even get into his bizarre team selection either.

Still, Argentina controls its own 2010 qualification destiny. Wednesday Argentina plays at Paraguay, which is five points clear in third place. Meanwhile, Argentina's biggest chasers for fourth place, Colombia and Ecuador face tricky matches. Colombia plays at Uruguay in what's likely a do-or-die match for the hosts, meanwhile Ecuador travels to Bolivia where the altitude of La Paz give La Verde one of the world's best home-field advantages.

Again, Argentina isn't in a good spot right now, but predictions of its imminent demise are clearly premature at least until after Wednesday. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess if Maradona will still be around for the final two matches.