Sudamericana U20 World Cup Qualifying

Written by Nicholas Savage , 22.01 09h48

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Now the Sudamericana is fully under way. We take a look at how Brazil has faired so far and which players are impressing.

The 2007 South American Youth Championship is contested by all ten U-20 national football teams of CONMEBOL and ultimately works as qualifying for the Under 20 World Cup.

The tournament is being held in Paraguay this year. The teams are separated in two groups of five, and each team plays four matches. The three top competitors advance to a single final group of six, wherein each team plays five matches. The top four teams in the final group qualify to the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.

Nelson Rodrigues' men qualified for the six-team final round with a game to spare, showing occasional flair along the way. But if the Canarinho's are to win they will definitely need to raise their game as much tougher teams await them in the next round.

Brazil finished winners of group A. Recording 3 wins and one draw, scoring 10 and conceding 4 goals. Victories against Chile (4-2), Peru (2-1), Bolivia (3-0) and a draw with Paraguay (1-1).

Alexandre Pato, Leandro Lima and play maker Lucas have all impressed. Showing a technical and work ethic that looks likely to guide the Brazil's into the qualifying spot for Canada 2007.

Lucas, the scorer of the winner against the Peruvians, is in confident mood. "We'll be in better shape in the second phase," he assured. "We hope to step up a level because it's a very competitive tournament with some evenly contested matches. All we need to do is produce a bit more firepower. As for possible winners, well, Colombia are a good side with some excellent players and Argentina will be very tough. They always get stronger as tournaments go on."

Group A

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
Brazil 10 4 3 1 0 10 4
Paraguay 8 4 2 2 0 3 1
Chile 6 4 2 0 2 10 7
Bolivia 4 4 1 1 2 4 8
Peru 0 4 0 0 4 4 11

Group B

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
Colombia 9 4 3 0 1 5 3
Uruguay 7 4 2 1 1 6 5
Argentina 5 4 1 2 1 11 6
Ecuador 4 4 1 1 2 5 5
Venezuela 3 4 1 0 3 3 11

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