Venezuela beat Peru 3-2 on Tuesday to keep alive the dream of playing in Brazil 2014, their first World Cup.
Paolo Hurtado put Peru ahead in the 20th minute, while Salomon Rondon equalized for Venezuela in the 37th minute. Cesar Gonzalez made it 2-1 for the hosts from the spot 15 minutes into the second half and Romulo Otero added Venezuela’s third goal in the 76th minute.
Carlos Zambrano scored for Peru with one minute to go, but it was too late for a comeback in Puerto La Cruz by then.
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The result left Venezuela — the only South American country where football is not the most popular sport — sixth in the standings, with 19 points in 15 matches.
They still have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup, although it is very remote since they only have one match to play. Ecuador and Uruguay, who are both on 22 points, both have two games left in the qualifiers.