Venezuela will look to salvage its World Cup dreams when it takes on Paraguay on Friday.
This is the final game of the qualifiers for Venezuela and will determine whether it has any hopes of joining Brazil's big tournament next summer. With 19 points, Venezuela is three out of a playoff spot and no longer controls its own destiny. A win would put the team into a tie with Ecuador and Uruguay for the final playoff spot, but the current -6 goal differential would leave Venezuela out of the running. Venezuela needs a number of scenarios to work out in order to qualify.
Venezuela must destroy Paraguay by as many goals as possible to diminish the goal differential. It must also hope that either Uruguay or Ecuador loses by a huge amount. If Ecuador loses, then Venezuela needs Chile to destroy Ecuador to keep it at 22 points and give Venezuela a chance. If Uruguay loses, then Venezuela needs to pray for an Argentine victory in the final game with Uruguay.
A draw between Ecuador and Uruguay would not only eliminate Venezuela, it would also clinch a top-five finish for the remaining CONMEBOL clubs. Venezuela is coming off a huge 3-2 win against Peru but had gone three games without a win; the team's last victory had been a 1-0 win over Colombia in March.
Paraguay is eliminated from contention with only 11 points.
Prediction: Venezuela manages a 4-0 win.
Start Time: 4:30 p.m. EST