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Argentina established a 1-0 win over Uruguay to reserve a berth in 2010 World Cup. The last round of the South American qualifiers was played in Montevideo.
In other Wednesday's matches Ecuador lost to Chile, keeping Uruguay alive for a last chance to earn a ticket to South Africa next year. Uruguay qualified for a play-off with a team from North or Central America or the Caribbean, which turned out to be Costa Rica after it drew 2-2 with the United States Wednesday.
Brazil, Paraguay and Chile have already secured their world Cup berths in South Africa. Argentina coach Diego Maradona said "Now it's a different film.”He stressed his full confidence in his men after the members of one of the world's football powerhouses struggled to advance to South Africa.
Veteran midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron said, “We suffered a lot in the qualifiers, but everything ended well. When you suffer, every achievement has greater value. Now we have to think about improving to get to a great World Cup."
Mauro Bolatti scored the only goal of the match in the 84th minute although a draw would have been enough to get Argentina a World Cup berth after Ecuador's defeat. Uruguay made a good start and got three chances in the first 10 minutes of play. Argentina dominated the midfield but superstar Lionel Messi failed to show his good play.
Bolatti said after the match,"We knew that we did not have to go crazy, that we had to play a bit with their despair.”
