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Welcome to our live blog of the South American Zone of the 2018 World Cup Qualifying. This is where you can get latest updates from all 10 national team camps ahead of the March qualifiers, get your daily fix of team news, including injuries and suspensions, and check out the official squads as soon as they are announced.
Monday, 14 March
06:08 CET: Colombia confirm they will face Haiti at Marlins Park in Miami on May 29 in the final warm-up game for Copa America Centenario.
Sunday, 13 March
17:57 CET: Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simone admits that he hopes to take charge of the Argentina national team in the future.
09:45 CET: Espanyol confirm full-back Enzo Roco will be in the Chile squad for World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Venezuela. The 23-year-old has 6 Chile caps up to date.
09:30 CET: Peru coach Ricardo Gareca set to field attack-minded line-up against Venezuela, with Claudio Pizarro, Paolo Guerrero, Christian Cueva and Cristian Benavente all expected to start. Probable Peru starting line-up (4-4-2): Gallese – Advincula, Zambrano, Calles, Vargas – Ballon, Tapia, Benavente, Cueva – Guerrero, Pizarro.
Saturday, 12 March
10:45 CET: Bolivia Football Federation (FBF) reveals that all players who reject a call-up to the national team will be suspended from all football for one year.
10:38 CET: Rosario Central confirm that Marcelo Larrondo had earned his first ever call-up to the Chile national team after switching his allegiance from Argentina.
10:29 CET: Raul Rudiaz, Andy Polo and Edison Flores are among home-based players in the Peru squad that coach Ricardo Gareca named for March qualifiers.
Friday, 11 March
08:58 CET: Bolivia midfielder Walter Veizaga will miss the March qualifiers through injury, whereas defender Edward Zenteno faces a race against time to be fit.
08:04 CET: Werder Bremen confirm Claudio Pizarro will miss Bayern Munich clash through muscle injury. The veteran striker should, nonetheless, recover in time to join the Peru squad.
Thursday, 10 March
21:58 CET: Colombia coach Jose Nestor Pekerman reveals the list of 8 home-based players in the squad to face Bolivia and Ecuador. Included are: Robinson Zapata, William Tesillo, Sebastian Perez, Victor Ibarbo, Farid Diaz, Marlos Moreno, Guillermo Celis and Daniel Torres.
18:55 CET: More problems for Ecuador coach Gustavo Quinteros as he prepares to announce his squad on Monday. With Gabriel Achillier out injured and his replacement Arturo Mina struggling for fitness, Jorge Guagua or Norberto Araujo could start against Paraguay. However, Renato Ibarra and Michael Arroyo have returned from lengthy spells on the sidelines and they could be included.
15:38 CET: Rosario Central confirm they have not received invitation from Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi for striker Marcelo Larrondo, meaning the forward will not be in the squad for March qualifiers. Larrondo is in the process of receiving Chilean passport, but the paperwork was not completed in time to make his debut.
14:26 CET: Uruguay announce Trinidad & Tobago friendly to be played on 27 May at Estadio Centenario. This will be La Celeste’s only warm-up game for 2016 Copa America Centenario.
08:15 CET: Premier League stars Enner Valencia and Antonio Valencia should be included in Ecuador squad after recovering from injury. Jefferson Montero, Juan Carlos Paredes, Frickson Erazo and Juan Cazares are also tipped to be on the roster that is announced on Monday.
07:32 CET: La Tercera confirms that Felipe Gutierrez and Francisco Silva will be in the Chile squad for March qualifiers. La Roja coach Juan Antonio Pizzi is expected to reveal his list at a press conference next week, but the two players have already seen invitations arrive at their respective clubs.
06:25 CET: Peru defender Carlos Zambrano slams Pescara forward Gianluca Lapadula for hesitating over switching his allegiance to Peru. The Juventus target still hopes to receive Italy call-up, but admitted he may play for La Blanquirroja in the future.
Wednesday, 9 March
18:16 CET: Julio Cesar Baldivieso unveils 33-man squad for 2018 World Cup qualifiers vs Colombia and Argentina. Alejandro Chumacero is included after sorting out his problems with the national team head coach.
14:48 CET: Due to difficult situation in Venezuela, Chile plan to arrive two days earlier, carrying food, drinks and other supplies to avoid any problems. Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has yet to name his squad for March qualifiers.
13:40 CET: Diego Penny expected to be handed starting goalkeeping role for Peru in matches vs Venezuela and Uruguay.
08:24 CET: Brazil coach Carlos Dunga has suggested that Barcelona superstar Neymar will be in the squad for 2016 Summer Olympics rather than playing at the Copa America Centenario.
07:30 CET: Problems for Bolivia national team continue as midfielder Alejandro Chumacero is reportedly set to reject the call-up for March qualifiers. Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona defender Luis Alberto Gutierrez should be one of just five foreign-based players in the squad that will be announced later today.
06:15 CET: Peru medical team confirm Jefferson Farfan and Carlos Ascues have recovered ahead of schedule and should be in contention for the Venezuela game. Carlos Zambrano should be fit in 5 to 7 days after suffering a muscle strain.
Tuesday, 8 March
16:33 CET: Ramon Diaz names Paraguay squad for Ecuador and Brazil qualifiers. As expected, Juan Manuel Iturbe is included, but one star player has been omitted.
14:38 CET: Chile midfielder Pablo Hernandez ruled out of March qualifiers as Celta Vigo confirm he is set to miss a month through knee injury.
13:43 CET: Tata Martino announces Argentina squad for games vs Chile and Bolivia. There are several surprises among the 29 players on the list.
10:36 CET: After Rosario Central confirmed Argentina call for Javier Pinola, River Plate revealed Gabriel Mercado and and Leonel Vangioni are in the squad as well.
Los jugadores de River Gabriel Mercado y Leonel Vangioni fueron convocados a la Selección Nacional por el DT Gerardo Martino.
— River Plate (@CARPoficial) March 7, 2016
10:27 CET: Argentina national team coach Gerardo Martino will name his squad later today and the latest reports suggest that Carlos Tevez, Fernando Gago, Ezequiel Garay and Ezequiel Lavezzi will all be left out. Villarreal centre-back Mateo Musacchio and Werder Bremen full-back Santiago Garcia are tipped to receive call-ups.
09:33 CET: Former Benfica goalkeeper Artur Moraes is surprised that Eagles hotshot Jonas did not receive Brazil call-up for the March qualifiers. The 31-year-old, who has 8 Selecao caps up to date, has scored 26 goals in 25 league matches for Benfica this season.
07:20 CET: Bolivia coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso will announce his 30-man squad today at 16:00 CET (11:00 local time). Veteran defender Nelson Cabrera (0/0) and in-form midfielder Alejandro Chumacero (29/1) should be included.
07:12 CET: Peru schedule El Salvador friendly on 29 May to serve as one of the final warm-up games for 2016 Copa America Centenario.
Monday, 7 March
20:56 CET: Bournemouth forward Juan Manuel Iturbe confirms his decision to represent Paraguay at international level. As a result, the 22-year-old should be named in La Albirroja squad for qualifiers against Ecuador and Brazil.
20:44 CET: Rosario Central defender Javier Pinola is set to receive Argentina call-up nine years after earning his first and only cap, due to injury to Jonatan Maidana.
20:25 CET: Peru boss Ricardo Gareca announces first part of the squad for games vs Venezuela and Uruguay. The list of 13 players based abroad includes most star names, but there are some surprises as well.
16:04 CET: Ecuador striker Miller Bolanos has been ruled out of March qualifiers as he is set to miss 4-6 weeks through a broken jaw. Bolanos started all four qualifiers, scoring one goal.
15:55 CET: Maxi Pereira and Diego Godin are both suspended for the match against Brazil, whereas Sao Paolo centre-back Diego Lugano has been overlooked.
Earlier News
Brazil coach Carlos Dunga was the first to announce his squad for upcoming matches, although he was since forced to call Roberto Firmino as a replacement for Kaka, who is out with a groin problem.
Manchester United starlet Guillermo Varela was included in the Uruguay squad for games vs Selecao and Peru, with Luis Suarez returning after a lengthy suspension.
Venezuela coach Noel Sanvicente has also announced his squad, sprinting quite a few surprises in the process and including 18-year-old forward Adalberto Penaran.
Peru head coach Ricardo Gareca will reveal his list later today, but while Jefferson Farfan should be included despite struggling through injury, star players Andre Carrillo and Carlos Ascues are set to miss out.
Chile face serious problems as well, seeing that Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal are suspended for the Argentina game, but Rosario Central striker Marcelo Larrondo could be handed his first ever call-up.
Stay tuned for more updates…
Upcoming Fixtures (All times CET)
24 March
21:00 Bolivia vs Colombia
22:00 Ecuador vs Paraguay
00:30 Chile vs Argentina
03:15 Peru vs Venezuela
25 March
01:45 Brazil vs Uruguay
29 March
22:30 Colombia vs Ecuador
01:00 Uruguay vs Peru
01:30 Argentina vs Bolivia
01:30 Venezuela vs Chile
01:45 Paraguay vs Brazil
