Ten South American nations set out on the long road to this year's Olympic football tournament. Just four are left to compete for the continent's two slots in the Tokyo Games. The South American Under-23 Championships now move into the decisive week, with the competition building toward a grand finale on Sunday with the meeting of Brazil and Argentina.
Both cruised through the group phase, winning all four of their games. Argentina have probably produced the most exciting talent in Brighton-bound attacking midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and striker Julian Alvarez. Brazil probably have more strength in depth, at least in the midfield and forward positions. Defensively, they have struggled, and it will indeed be fascinating to see how they cope with the lucidity of Mac Allister and Alvarez.
If everything goes to form, then their game will decide the destiny of the title. But things might be even more interesting if one or both of them of them slip up in their matches on Monday and Thursday. With just two Olympic places available, there is little margin for error. Neither was present at the Barcelona Games in 1992, for example. Argentina missed out in 2000 and again in 2012. Brazil failed to make it in 2004.
The primary threat to the traditional big two would seem to come from Colombia, who are hosting the competition. They needed a draw against Chile in their final group match, and with a little fortune along the way held out for a 0-0. Attacking midfielder Jorge Carrascal has been one of the stars of the show, but he has little top-class company; it seems to be a Colombian generation that is missing quality strikers, and without their home-field advantage they would be unlikely contenders. But if the crowd in Bucaramanga stay behind them, they can cause problems; their opening-night, 2-1 defeat to Argentina was one of the most intense games of the tournament. They meet again on Thursday, and before that, they could well trouble the Brazilians.
And the fourth team is Uruguay, who sealed the last available place after a nail-biting final night of group action. Uruguay had already played their four group games, and their players went through an agonising evening in Armenia watching helplessly and hoping for favourable results in two matches.
First came Bolivia against Peru. A Peruvian win would eliminate the Uruguayans, as would a two-goal Bolivian victory. Deep in stoppage time, Bolivia were 2-0 up. With just a few seconds of the added time left, Peru won a corner. Bolivia protested that there was no time to take it. The referee disagreed, and as the Bolivian defenders massed on the near post, the cross went beyond them to be headed home at the far by Peru centre-back Jose Lujan. Uruguay had won a reprieve.
But they still needed another. They would be eliminated if Paraguay beat Brazil, and the Brazilians fielded a reserve side. Even so, they dominated. Paraguay grimly held on until half-time, but after the break, they began to look for their win and took the lead just after the hour mark. Wanting to preserve their unbeaten record, Brazil brought on their first-choice players. Two of them, Bruno Guimaraes and Paulinho, combined to score the equaliser. There were still 15 minutes for the Uruguayans to bite their nails, and with three of them remaining, the ball fell at the far post for Paraguayan centre-forward Sergio Bareiro. He was 3 yards out -- and managed to scoop the ball over the bar. The chance had gone, and Brazil celebrated by charging up the other end to score the winner and ensure Uruguay's place in the last four.
Brazil have handed Uruguay a reprieve, and when they meet on Thursday, Uruguay will hope to make them pay for it.