Venezuela is the worst ranked team in the region (69). Colombia and Uruguay have many of their stars absent due to injuries and suspensions.

It is a long road to Russia 2018 but every journey has its starting point and this week the teams in CONMEBOL start theirs. Colombia vs Peru, Bolivia vs Uruguay and Venezuela vs Paraguay are three of the games you don't want to miss. In this region, there are no big differences between most teams. Finding a way to add points early, could make a difference down the road.

Colombia vs Peru

Colombia is one of the favorite teams in this region. After a very good 2014 World Cup showing, they want to be back in Russia letting people know that what they did in Amazon territory was not a fluke. James Rodriguez headlines this team but will not be available for this one along with Radamel Falcao, both out with injuries. 

With their absences, there is one man expected to shine under the bright spotlight. Carlos Bacca, UEFA Europa League winner with Sevilla and now AC Milan's leading scorer, has the weight of a whole nation over his arms. The 29-year old player hopes to carry the momentum of a good start with his new club to the national team.

It was actually Bacca who had given Jose Pekerman's team an early lead in a recent friendly against Peru that ended 1-1. In the last 17 games between each other, Colombia has won most of them. Their record includes eight wins, seven draws and only two losses against Peru.

Ricardo Gareca, Peru's manager is not afraid of what Colombia can bring to the table. They know it won't be easy playing at Barranquilla with almost the whole stadium supporting the home side, but he is confident on what his players can do. After all, finding a way to tie the game a month ago was important for their morale.

If you are unfamiliar with Peru's players, there is at least one you may have heard about. Claudio Pizarro, a 37-year old veteran, is the man to follow. He is Peru's captain and despite his age, one of the most vicious attackers in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen.  

While Gareca's overall balance is not positive after 10 games (3-3-4), the team is coming off a strong Copa America and showing it has a clear idea of how they want things done. They are ranked 50th in the FIFA World Rankings. This will be Gareca's debut as a manager in World Cup qualifiers.

Bolivia vs Uruguay

Bolivia starts off with a very hard test against Uruguay, one of the favorite teams to ease their way into the upcoming World Cup. Bolivia will have to improve a lot in order to fight for a right to be in Russia three years from now. Their most recent game did not end so well for them, as Argentina with Messi beat them 7-0.

Julio Cesar Baldivieso has just taken the position of Bolivia's manager over a month ago and he knows that there is a lot of work to do. He was not happy at all after the game with Argentina, and this is his chance to show Bolivia's fans, just how much he wants to win. 

Ronald Raldés and Marcelo Martins are the two players that could not join the team due to recent injuries. Baldivieso recognizes there is some anxiety among his players to face Uruguay at home, but the manager hopes that his players can transform that anxiety into energy and feed off their fans to find a way to win.

Uruguay is the favorite coming into this match. They are ranked 20th by FIFA and are facing a team that is all the way down in 67th. Despite the absences of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani for being suspended, the team has other quality players that can jump in and cover up their spots.

One of them is Diego Godín, the Atletico Madrid defender knows that probably the hardest challenge is the altitude in La Paz, but that a good result in this game, could show Uruguay the way for the rest of the qualifiers. For them, being knocked out of the Copa America in the quarter-finals was a big blow.

Oscar Tabarez has been with the team since 2012. He knows his players really well but knows that the competition can surprise him at any given moment. The manager claims that his team will go out with only one thing in mind, and that is called winning. The team holds a record of 8-3-2 against Bolivia since 1950 in World Cup Qualifiers.

Venezuela vs Paraguay

Venezuela is looking to redeem itself after failing to reach the playoffs in the Copa America this past summer. The team managed by Noel Sanvicente sees the opening game of the World Cup Qualifiers as the perfect opportunity to do so. They start this long road to Russia, as the worst ranked team in CONMEBOL (69).

Salomón Rondón and Tomas Rincón are the two best players in this team, and the whole nation has big hopes about what they can do for their team game after game. They hope to count with the support of close to 42,000 spectators at Cachamay Stadium.

The squad called up by Sanviciente seems to be more competitive than what the ranking shows it to be. They have a total of 14 players in European leagues. They know they need an early win in the competition as their second game will be against Brazil.

On the side of Paraguay, they finished fourth in the Copa America after falling against Peru in the game for bronze. Ramón Diaz was not happy about that and hopes his team has learned about what they did wrong to improve for their upcoming game. 

They also just lost against Chile in a friendly match. They have not enjoyed a good year so far. Right now they are ranked 61 by FIFA. It's been almost four months since Paraguay won its last game (against Jamaica) in the Copa America.

The players that will be absent for this first trip to Venezuela are Justo Villar, Roque Santa Cruz, Raúl Bobadilla and Nelson Valdez due to injuries. El Pelado is also not counting on them for the upcoming game against Argentina a few days later. Lucas Barrios from Palmeiras could be the key player for the team early on. 

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Bolivia 0 - 2 Uruguay

October 8, 2015 4:00pmEstadio Hernando Siles (La Paz)

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Colombia 2 - 0 Peru

October 8, 2015 4:30pmEstadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez (Barranquilla)

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Venezuela 0 - 1 Paraguay

October 8, 2015 5:00pmCentro Total de Entretenimiento Cachamay (Ciudad Guayana)

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