Brazil held to a 1-1 draw in Peru, Uruguay-Chile ends 2-2

Brazil, which fielded superstars Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho, pulled ahead in the 40th minute with a brilliant long-distance shot from Kaka over the Peruvian goalkeeper.

 In the 71st minute, a long-range effort by Peruvian Juan Vargas was deflected by Brazilian captain Lucio to make the score 1-1.

 To make matters worse, Brazil's central defender Lucio will miss Wednesday's game against Uruguay in Sao Paulo after seeing his second yellow card of the series in the qualifiers.

 Brazilian national coach Carlos Dunga said at the end of the game Sunday that the result was "fair," and that he was pleased with Brazil's general performance. He admitted some corrections were needed, notably handling of the ball.

 Peruvian national coach Jose Guillermo "Chemo" del Solar noted that Peru "could have done better."

   "We should have won, but unfortunately it was not enough," said Del Solar.

 Peru's Andres Mendoza said it is "always good to get a draw against such a good team."

   In a game earlier Sunday between second-tier rivals for a spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Uruguay and Chile drew 2-2 in Montevideo.

 Uruguay pulled ahead at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo through Luis Suarez four minutes before halftime. Veteran striker Marcelo Salas equalized with a header six minutes after the break.

 Salas himself put Chile ahead in the 69th minute from the penalty spot, after Uruguayan captain Diego Lugano was deemed to have brought down a rival in the box. Another veteran, Sebastian Abreu, made things 2-2 in the 81st minute of an entertaining game that could have gone either way.

 On Saturday, Argentina defeated Bolivia 3-0, Colombia beat Venezuela 1-0, and Paraguay thrashed Ecuador 5-1.

 Argentina, the only team to have won its three qualifiers so far, tops the table on nine points, ahead of Paraguay with seven. Brazil and Colombia trail on five points, while Uruguay and Chile remain on four points.

 Despite having reached the last two World Cup finals, Ecuador is the only team to have lost all three games in the South American qualifying tournament. Luis Fernando Suarez resigned as national coach following the loss to Paraguay.

 "There are times that the effort that you make does not achieve the desired goal, and thinking about the welfare of the Ecuadorian national football team I have made the irrevocable decision to resign," the Colombian Suarez said after the game late Saturday.

 A visibly moved Suarez said he thought the team would "certainly do better without" him.

 On Wednesday, Ecuador is set to play Peru in Quito, with under-20 team coach Sixto Vizuete at the helm.

 The popular Suarez had coached Ecuador since 2004 and achieved a place in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He was set to continue as national coach until 2010. However, a poor Copa America earlier this year, worrying results on the way to South Africa and some controversial picks of players sealed his fate.

 The qualifiers are set to continue this week with the fourth round of games. Venezuela vs Bolivia and Colombia vs Argentina are scheduled for Tuesday, with Brazil vs Uruguay, Ecuador vs Peru and Chile vs Paraguay on Wednesday.

 In the South American World Cup qualifiers, each of the 10 teams involved play all the others at home and away. The top four finishers win a place in the World Cup, with the fifth-place team facing a representative of the North, Central American and Caribbean region in a playoff.