FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, the focus has been on Uefa qualifiers as the Republic of Ireland remain in contention for a place in Russia next summer.
There have been plenty of compelling storylines and subplots, particularly over the last few days with one result potentially changing the course of another team’s chances.
But things are incredibly captivating in South America too.
With just one round of games left (on Tuesday), six teams are still battling it out for the four remaining spots.
Brazil have breezed through qualifying, losing just one of their 17 games so far and are already assured a World Cup place.
Meanwhile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela have been eliminated.
But for every team in between, it’s survival of the fittest.
In CONMEBOL qualifying, the top-four make it through automatically while the team that finishes in fifth will advance to a two-legged play-off against New Zealand next month.
Much has been made of Argentina’s peril. Right now, they’re sitting outside the top-five and whether they make it to Russia is out of their hands.
Here’s how the final round of fixtures looks.
For Lionel Messi and his team-mates, a win over Ecuador may not be enough. Yes, they can still make it through automatically but only if Colombia and Peru finish level or Colombia win and Chile draw or lose to Brazil.
There are plenty of other permutations but Jorge Sampaoli’s side need snookers. To avoid even more crunching of numbers and requiring help from elsewhere, they need to lock down a victory against Ecuador. If that happens, at least they kept their side of the deal.
But the other big storyline of CONMEBOL qualifying has been Peru. They lost three of their first four games but are unbeaten in their last five. They pulled off a big victory against Uruguay back in March and host Colombia in Lima on Tuesday.
Would be a fantastic story if Peru qualify for the World Cup. Brings back the glory days of the 1970's and star player Teófilo Cubillas. pic.twitter.com/1030QycqOA
— Yousef Teclab (@yousefteclab) October 6, 2017
Without a World Cup appearance since 1982, it promises to be quite the party if they secure qualification or a play-off spot.
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Ecuador is not an easy place to play because of the altitude. Just as Bolivia showed with Brazil the other night. Argentina could easily not be at the world cup next year.
@Lorcán Coyle: no comparison betweent quito and la paz. Its like comparing carringtootle wih everest. (Hyperbole alert for the tone deaf)
The whole continent dislikes Argentina. Ecuador will not make it easy. Argies have a shocking record in Quito too. I think 1 point from last 3 visits. However, a lot of people over here (South America) do seem to think that the mighty FIFA will do whatever is necessary, brown envelope schtyle, to get Messi to Russia.