After Argentina’s fourth loss in its last five qualifying games, a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay, Coach Diego Maradona promised to fight on for his country. “As long as I have a drop of blood left, I will fight to get Argentina qualified,” said Maradona, captain of the country’s 1986 World Cup-winning team. “We’re not out of the World Cup,” he added. “I’m not afraid of criticism. I’m not afraid of anybody. I’m going to continue no matter who criticizes me.”
Nelson Valdez scored for Paraguay, giving the country its fourth straight trip to the World Cup. Brazil, which qualified on Saturday, leads the South American group with 33 points followed by Paraguay with 30. Chile has 27, Ecuador 23, Argentina 22 and Uruguay and Venezuela each have 21. Colombia has 20.
Qualifying wraps up next month with all South American teams playing on Oct. 10 and Oct. 13. Argentina plays Peru at home and then Uruguay away.