Buenos Aires — Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia qualified for the 2018 World Cup on Tuesday after a dramatic last round of South American fixtures in which Peru clinched a playoff spot against New Zealand and Chile missed out completelythat also saw Peru clinch a playoff spot against New Zealand and Chile miss out completely. Brazil were fortunate enough to escape the drama, having already qualified as group winners, but they still had a say in who would join them in Russia. Argentina, finalists three years ago but outside the four qualifying spots going into their match in Ecuador, fell behind in the first minute but a Lionel Messi hat-trick guaranteed his side one of the three automatic berths still up for grabs. "Luckily, we reacted quickly after Ecuador scored," Messi said after the celebrations in Quito had died down following Argentina’s 3-1 win. "Thank God, we fulfilled our objective." Uruguay went behind at home to Bolivia, to an own goal from Gaston Silva after 24 minutes, b...
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