End of the marathon is in sight

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Diego Maradona has called an unlikely source to help rescue Argentina's flailing campaign: 35-year-old veteran striker Martín Palermo. AP CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings Team W D L GF GA GD Pts *Brazil 9 6 1 32 9 +23 33 *Paraguay 9 3 4 22 13 +9 30 Chile 8 3 5 27 20 +7 27 Ecuador 6 5 5 21 23 -2 23 Argentina 6 4 6 20 19 +1 22 Uruguay 5 6 5 26 18 +8 21 Venezuela 6 3 7 22 27 -5 21 Colombia 5 5 6 10 14 -4 20 Bolivia 3 3 10 20 34 -14 12 Peru 2 4 10 9 32 -23 10 *qualified The top four teams qualify for the 2010 World Cup, while the fifth-place team faces the fourth-place team in CONCACAF in a two-game playoff.

Brazil and Paraguay already booked their tickets for the 2010 World Cup, but six other teams are still in the running. There are only two automatic tickets left for South America, and one playoff berth against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.

The South American World Cup qualifying zone is the most difficult in the world, not only because of the competition on display and the climatic conditions (i.e. playing at high altitude) but also because all 10 teams from the continent have been locked in battle for two years.

With so much at stake, the climax of qualifying promises to be the most exciting of the whole competition. Most of the attention will be attracted by Diego Maradona and the exploits of Argentina, which could miss out on the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

Here's a rundown of the final two rounds of South American qualifying -- which kick off Saturday and conclude on Oct. 14 -- in order of their predicted finishing position.

Chile

Firmly in third place, Chile is a near lock to nail down one of the remaining places, and will advance to the World Cup with a victory over Colombia in Medellín on Saturday. The last time Chile qualified for the World Cup was 12 years ago. Even if the Chileans lose to Colombia, they'll have another opportunity to qualify when they play host to Ecuador in Santiago on Oct. 14.

La Roja is this close thanks to the work of Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa. "El Loco" took over an ordinary team immediately after it was sent crashing out of the '07 Copa América after suffering a 6-1 defeat to Brazil in the quarterfinals. Since then, Bielsa has been able to get the most out of a talented bunch of players. With four wins in its eight away games in qualifying, Chile is more than capable of clinching on Saturday.

Ecuador

La Tri knows that its game with Uruguay in Quito on Saturday is crucial for its World Cup chances. A win will practically seal a spot in a third straight World Cup. However, if Ecuador were to lose or draw, it could face elimination in the final round. With the tickets for the Uruguay game sold out immediately after they were made available to the general public almost a month ago, it's easy to understand the importance of the match.

Ecuador is in confident mood after claiming a 3-1 victory over Bolivia in La Paz last month, and will be inspired by that performance when it takes on Uruguay at the Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. Ever since it qualified for its first World Cup in '02, the fortunes of Ecuadorian soccer have changed dramatically. Not only has the national team been a very solid unit over the past 10 years, but the country has produced several talented players, with four of its squad members playing for English clubs, including Antonio Valencia of Manchester United.

The fact that last year Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito was the first team from the nation to lift South America's biggest club competition, the Copa Libertadores, further exemplifies Ecuador's improvement. It would be a major shock if Ecuador doesn't represent the continent in South Africa next year.

Argentina

There's no doubt that all eyes will be glued on Maradona and his new-look Argentina side on Saturday. The two-time world champions have been woeful during the World Cup qualifiers, and could miss out on the finals for the first time since 1970 if they don't pick up positive results against Peru and Uruguay.

Maradona has been forced to make a number of significant changes after Argentina lost its last three qualifiers, including a painful home defeat to archrival Brazil. Fortunately, for the first time since he took the job a year ago, it seems his choices will be solid (The iconic coach has used a total of 78 players since taking over the national team).

When selecting his squad, Maradona excluded several Europe-based players who have underperformed with the national team recently, and to the delight of many, he finally called up Real Madrid scoring machine Gonzalo Higuaín.