THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Bolivia took advantage of the thin air in La Paz to beat Uruguay 4-1 on Tuesday in a lopsided match that may damage Uruguay’s chances of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Carlos Saucedo scored in the fifth, 51st and 55th minutes and Gualberto Mujica added the other in the 26th. Luis Suarez scored in the 81st for Uruguay.
"Bolivia did well, taking advantage of the two goals in the first half," Uruguay coach Oscar Tavarez said. "We’re not dead, but we need to fix things. We have no cushion now and we’ll have to fight it out. We’ll get out of this tough spot."
Uruguay stayed on 12 points from nine matches, its second defeat in four days following a 3-0 loss at Argentina.
Bolivia has eight points and remains a long shot to reach the World Cup in Brazil.
Uruguay, like many teams which travel to play at 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) in La Paz, never got into the match.
South American qualifying resumes on March 22.
Argentina 2, Chile 1
SANTIAGO, Chile — Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain each scored as Argentina beat Chile 2-1 on Tuesday to remain atop the South American World Cup qualifying standings.
Messi scored in the 28th and Higuain added another in the 31st. Felipe Gutierrez scored for Chile in second-half injury time.
Argentina has 20 points from nine games. Chile stayed on 12 points, and the loss will put more pressure on under-fire coach Claudio Borghi.
It was Messi’s 31st goal for Argentina as he closes in on 33 by Diego Maradona, who is third on the country’s all-time list. Gabriel Batistuta leads with 54.
Venezuela 1, Ecuador 1
PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela — Segundo Castillo scored in the 24th minute to help Ecuador secure a hard-earned 1-1 draw with Venezuela on Tuesday in a South American World Cup qualifier.
Juan Arango opened the scoring in the sixth minute for Venezuela.
The draw could provide a valuable point for Ecuador, which improved to 17 points from nine games and is among the leaders in the qualifying group. Venezuela, which has 12 points from nine games, is the only team in the South American confederation that has never qualified the World Cup finals.
Paraguay 1, Peru 0
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Defender Pablo Aguilar scored early in the second half Tuesday to give Paraguay a 1-0 victory over Peru in a South American World Cup qualifier.
Aguilar scored from a centring pass from Julio Dos Santos in the 52nd minute.
Paraguay improved to seven points from nine matches, and Peru has eight. Both teams are longshots to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
South American World Cup qualifying resumes on March 22, when Uruguay plays Paraguay and Peru faces Chile.