Argentina v Brazil, Chile v Colombia: South American World Cup qualifying coverage
Rodriguez, returning to international duty after a thigh injury which kept him out of Colombia’s opening two qualifiers last month, pounced in the 68th minute to silence the Santiago crowd after Arturo Vidal had put Chile ahead.
Rodriguez’s goal came after a determined fightback from the Colombians, anxious to get a result after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay in their previous qualifier.
The draw frustrated Chile however, who dominated possession for long periods but were unable to carve out many clear chances in the face of some disciplined Colombian defence.
Alexis Sanchez was the first to get a shot on goal for Chile after only two minutes, drawing a fine save from Arsenal teammate David Ospina in the Colombian goal with a dipping shot.
Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was mostly unoccupied for the first half, but needed to be alert to turn over Dani Torres’s angled shot midway through the half.
The breakthrough came for Chile on the stroke of halftime.
Matias Fernandez curled a wicked freekick into the area and the battling Vidal held off the challenge of the Colombian defence to direct his header past Ospina.
Colombia’s more adventurous approach after the break was rewarded however when a counter-attack saw a loose ball fall to Rodriguez who turned and drilled a low shot past Bravo for the equaliser.
Colombia face Argentina at home next Tuesday in Barranquilla while Chile travel to Montevideo to meet Uruguay.
Meanwhile, the biggest draw of the day in South America was a damp squib as torrential rain forced the World Cup qualifying game against Brazil to be pushed back a day.
Officials declined to start the match at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, ruling the saturated field was unplayable.
Ernesto Cherquis Bialo, the spokesman for the Argentine Football Association, said the same venue would stage the game Friday.
“I wanted to play,” said Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain. “It’s a shame.”
Both South American powers are struggling and, with more balance in South America, there is even talk of one of the countries not making it to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Brazil has never missed a World Cup, and Argentina last missed out in 1970.
Brazil, the 2014 World Cup host, has only taken three points from its first two qualifiers, while Argentina, the losing finalist last year, has only managed one point and has yet to score a goal.
Brazil will have Barcelona star Neymar back following suspension, while Argentina will be without three injured stars: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez.
Meanwhile, Ecuador defeated Uruguay 2-1 to maintain their 100 per cent start to South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday with a third consecutive victory.
Ecuador, who opened their qualifying campaign with a stunning upset of Argentina in Buenos Aires last month, took another three points after Fidel Martinez’s second-half winner.
The victory left Ecuador with nine points after three games of South America’s marathon qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The Ecuadorans are bidding to qualify for their second World Cup finals in a row after reaching the 2014 tournament in Brazil, where they were eliminated in the first round.
Uruguay, missing suspended superstar Luis Suarez — still serving a ban for his infamous bite at the 2014 World Cup — struggled to contain a vibrant Ecuador side, comfortable in the challenging thin Andean air of Quito, some 9,000-feet above sea level.
Ecuador took the lead on 23 minutes through Felipe Caicedo, the Espanyol striker coolly tucking away a low cross from Juan Paredes on the right flank.
But Uruguay levelled four minutes after halftime through returning striker Edinson Cavani, the Paris Saint-Germain forward heading home from Nicolas Lodeiro’s perfectly flighted free-kick.
But Ecuador regained the lead only 10 minutes later however through an opportunistic strike from Martinez.
Swansea City forward Jefferson Montero was the catalyst, cutting in purposefully from the left flank and unleashing a fierce low shot towards Fernando Muslera.
Muslera could only parry the shot into the path of Martinez, who jabbed home the rebound to trigger wild celebrations in Quito’s Atahualpa Stadium.
Ecuador will now aim to secure a fourth consecutive victory when they travel to Venezuela next Tuesday.
Venezuela, who lost their opening two matches last month, suffered a third defeat earlier Thursday when they slumped to a 4-2 defeat to Bolivia.
Rodrigo Ramallo scored twice, Rudy Cardozo added another and Juan Carlos Arce converted a penalty. Mario Rondon and Richard Blanco scored for Venezuela, which has lost its first three qualifying matches. Bolivia has three points from three matches.
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