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Late penalty denies Brazil

AFP, Santiago
Brazil retained top place in the South American zone qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup finals despite drop-p i n g two points to a late penalty in their game against Chile here Sunday.
The Brazilians, 3-1 winners over Argentina on Wednesday went ahead in the 17th minute when Luis Fabiano, standing in for the injured Barcelona striker Ronaldinho, latched on to a pass from Kaka to sweep past goalkeeper Nelson Tapia and slot the ball home from a tight angle.
But with one minute to go and the Brazilians seemingly headed for all three points, the referee pointed to the penalty spot after a contested foul in the box on Rodrigo Perez.
Striker Reinaldo Navia stepped forward to slam the ball home as the match finished in a draw.
It was a disappointing way to finish the game for the world champions who never managed to reproduce the fluent style of play that had staggered Argentina.
But it means they retained top spot in the group with 13 points from seven games played, one ahead of Argentina who were held
0-0 at home by Paraguay and two points clear of Chile and Paraguay.
With the top four teams qualifying by right for the finals in Germany in two years time, the Brazilians are well-placed to continue their record of having played in every World Cup finals since the tournameent started in Uruguay in 1930.
Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said the match had been exactly as he had expected.
"It was a tough, hard-fought
game played at a tremendous pace and we saw Chile doing all they could to avoid a defeat at home," he said.
"The got their reward with a goal in the second half, but this result leaves both teams in a good position."
Chile coach Juvenal Olmos said he was happy with the way his side had played, adding they had deserved a share of the poisilent.
Argentina fans must have expected greater things when
coach Marcelo Bielsa fielded a brand new strike duo in Carlos Tevez of Boca Juniors and Barcelona' s Javier Saviola.
Though the players added creativity and unpredictability to an otherwise tedious match, neither of them were able to get on the scoresheet.
Paraguayan full-backs Paulo Da Silva and Denis Caniza closed off the flanks and the central defensive pairing of Carlos Gamarra and Julio Caesar Caceres proved a formidable wall for Argentina to penetrate.
Paraguay were up against it when midfielder Angel Ortiz was sent off with 30 minutes to go, but Paraguay's superb backline combined with Villar's excellent goalkeeping, earned them their valuable draw.
Since the 3-1 defeat to Brazil on Wednesday, Argentine fans have been disgruntled with Bielsa and this most recent result will not have helped.
In Sunday's other games, Peru and Venezuela drew 0-0 and Colombia hit five past Uruguay in Bogoto leaving the former World Cup winners languishing near the foot of the table.
On Saturday, Ecuador defeated Bolivia 3-2 in Quito to take fifth place in the table which would qualify them for a play-off against the winner of the Oceania zone should it remain like that.