BUENOS AIRES — Argentina and Colombia both finished with 10 men after a stormy 0-0 draw in South American qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup here Friday. The Argentinians had striker Gonzalo Higuain sent off after a clash with Colombia's Cristian Zapata midway through the first half and also saw two second-half goals from Sergio Aguero disallowed for offside. Venezuelan referee Marlon Escalante was escorted from the field at the whistle after a bruising contest which saw the home side's players and coaching staff protest furiously after the second of Aguero's two efforts was ruled out. Argentina, which leads the standings by five points and remains on course for an automatic qualifying berth with four games left to play, started a gripping contest at the Monumental Stadium with skipper Lionel Messi on the bench. The Barcelona star, who is nursing himself back to fitness after a hamstring injury, was eventually brought on early in the second half but was unable to break the deadlock for Argentina against a fiercely committed Colombian outfit. Colombia, which moved up to second ahead of Ecuador on goal difference, was well worth a point, but Argentina will feel aggrieved after Aguero's second disallowed effort, which appeared to have been wrongly adjudged offside. The frenetic pace saw players from both sides flying into some full-blooded challenges, and tensions boiled over on 26 minutes when Higuain and Zapata were given their marching orders. In early game, Venezuela was denied a precious victory against Bolivia in La Paz after Jhasmani Campos's late equalizer canceled out Juan Arango's goal for the visitors as the game finished 1-1. In Asuncion, Paraguay's hopes of qualification were all but extinguished as it lost 2-0 to Chile to remain rooted to the foot of the table. Goals from Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal handed maximum points to Chile, which now lies fourth in the table. In Lima, Peru breathed life into its qualification hopes after Claudio Pizzaro's 12th-minute strike sealed a 1-0 win over third-placed Ecuador. The win saw Peru move to sixth spot in the table, two points behind fifth-placed Venezuela with a game in hand. The top four finishers in South America's qualifying group are granted automatic berths to Brazil 2014, with the fifth placed side entering a play-off against their Asian counterpart. Libya suffers setback Libya suffered a setback to its hopes of playing at the World Cup for the first time when it was held 0-0 by the Democratic Republic of Congo Friday. A game between the countries in Kinshasa three months ago also ended goalless, and the Tripoli result was a massive disappointment to Libyan supporters. Libya remains second in the table, level on six points and plus-one goal difference with Cameroon, but behind the Indomitable Lions because they have scored fewer goals. Captain and striker Asamoah Gyan bagged a brace as 10-man Ghana defeated Sudan 3-1 in Omdurman to replace Zambia as Group D pacesetter. — Agencies
