Argentina suffered its worst defeat in World Cup qualifying when it wilted 6-1 against Bolivia at high altitude on Wednesday. The result eclipsed the 5-0 defeat against Colombia in 1993 and ruined the early promise shown under coach Diego Maradona, who had earned three victories in three games with no goals conceded since he took over last November. Bolivia, second to last in the South American race, was celebrating only its sixth ever win over Argentina – all at home – and first since 1997. The Bolivians matched their most goals against Argentina by halftime, when they led 3-1 at Hernando Siles Stadium. Joaquin Botero claimed a hat trick in the 33rd, 56th and 66th minutes. Marcelo Martins opened the scoring for Bolivia in the 12th, and Luis Gonzalez equalized after 24 minutes. Naturalized Brazilian Alex Da Rosa and Didi Torrico also scored for the home side. Venezuela scored two late goals Tuesday to earn a 2-0 win over Colombia, which squandered a chance to move into fifth place in South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Substitute striker Nicolas Fedor opened the scoring for Venezuela in the 78th minute after replacing Giancarlo Maldonado. Midfielder Juan Arango curled home a free kick in the 83rd minute to seal the win. The result left Colombia on 14 points after playing one game more than fifth-placed Uruguay, two points ahead on 16. Venezuela improved to 13 points but remained in eighth place, followed by Bolivia (9), and Peru (7). Ecuador sits in seventh place with 13 points, ahead of the Venezuelans on goal difference. Colombia claimed a 2-0 victory over Bolivia in the previous qualifier on Saturday, boosting hopes of at least a play off place, while Venezuela was soundly beaten 4-0 in Argentina. The first four nations qualify directly for the finals in South Africa. The Colombians played with 10 men from the 28th minute after midfielder Abel Aguilas was sent off after earning two yellow cards, the second for felling Venezuela's Alejandro Moreno in the middle of the pitch. Easy for Portugal Portugal beat South Africa 2-0 in a friendly and achieved its objective of gaining goals and confidence in the middle of a disappointing World Cup campaign on Tuesday. Unable to score in its past three qualifying matches, Portugal took the lead after just seven minutes through Bruno Alves, and Edinho added a second after 56 minutes.
