Chile, Ecuador reach World Cup; Uruguay faces playoff

Ecuador’s players react in frustration after Chile scoring their second goal during a 2014 World Cup qualifying soccer game in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013. AP

SANTIAGO, Chile—Chile and Ecuador are into next year’s World Cup in Brazil, and Uruguay can join them if it wins a two-match playoff next month against Jordan.

Chile defeated Ecuador 2-1 on Tuesday in Santiago, a result that advanced both teams.

Chile finished third in the South American qualifying group with Ecuador in fourth, claiming the two remaining automatic berths from the region. Argentina and Colombia had already qualified as the top two teams.

Alexis Sanchez scored for Chile in the 35th minute and Gary Medel added another three minutes later. Felipe Caicedo scored for Ecuador in the 66th.

Uruguay, despite a 3-2 victory against Argentina on Tuesday in Montevideo, finished fifth and goes into a two-match playoff against Jordan for another spot in Brazil. Uruguay and Ecuador both finished with 25 points from 16 matches, but Ecuador had the better goal difference.

Edinson Cavani scored the winner for Uruguay in the 50th, following two first-half goals by Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez and one each from Cristian Rodriguez and Luis Suarez, who scored from a penalty.

Argentina played without many of its top players including Lionel Messi.

In other South American qualifiers on Tuesday, Colombia defeated Paraguay 2-1 with two goals from Mario Yepes. Peru played Bolivia in a late match.

Brazil and Argentina are sure to be two of the eight seeded teams in the World Cup. Colombia and Uruguay could also be seeded. Seeds will be determined by FIFA’s rankings released Thursday.