Lima: Peru drew Brazil 1-1 and Uruguay and Chile finished 2-2 in South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup on Sunday.
Only Brazil improved in the standings, from fourth to third on goal difference. Uruguay remained fifth, Chile sixth on goal difference, and Peru eighth in the 10-team standings topped by Argentina through three rounds.
The last rotation for the year starts on Tuesday, when it's Venezuela vs. Bolivia and Colombia vs. Argentina. On Wednesday, it's Brazil vs. Uruguay, Chile vs. Paraguay, and Ecuador vs. Peru.
Kaka scored in the 39th minute for Brazil, who were sluggish despite the return of Ronaldinho from an ankle injury.
Juan Manuel Vargas equalized in the 70th to the roar of 30,000 fans at Lima's Monumental Stadium.
Sebastian Abreu scored in the 80th minute for Uruguay to cap the draw with Chile, for which Marcelo Salas notched both goals, off a header in the 58th and a penalty 10 minutes later.
Luis Suarez put Uruguay in front in the 41st before more than 20,000 spectators at Centenario Stadium in Montevideo.
Meanwhile, Sixto Vizuete was named the new coach of Ecuador, a day after Luis Fernando Suarez's surprise resignation.
Suarez quit straight after Ecuador was humbled 5-1 by Paraguay on Saturday, the team's third straight defeat in World Cup qualifiers, leaving it at the bottom of the standings with zero points.
Vizuete coached Ecuador's Under-18s to the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Brazil in July. This month, he led Ecuador's Under-15s at the South American championship in Brazil.
Argentina stay on top
Argentina stayed on top of South America's World Cup qualifying race while Ecuador remained on the bottom with a third straight defeat that caused coach Luis Fernando Suarez to resign suddenly on Saturday.
All three home teams enjoyed victories, as Argentina defeated Bolivia 3-0, Colombia scored their first goal in beating Venezuela 1-0, and Paraguay thrashed Ecuador 5-1.
The latter result was the last straw for Fernando Suarez, who ended three years in charge of Ecuador.
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"With my departure, I firmly think and believe this move can be of benefit to the national team in these difficult moments," he said with a trembling voice in Asuncion before the team returned home.
Just over a year ago, Fernando Suarez received a hero's welcome on returning home, after leading Ecuador to the last 16 at the World Cup in Germany. But since then, the team had lost all three of its group matches at the Copa America this year, and lost all three qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, and was yet to earn a point.
He could have used a striker such as Juan Roman Riquelme, who despite being frozen out by his club coach this season, produced his third and fourth goals of the qualifying series to lead Argentina to an 11th successive home victory against Bolivia.
After Sergio Aguero opening the scoring in the 40th, Riquelme struck twice in a seven-minute span of the second half from a free kick then off a set-up pass from Lionel Messi.
"First we had to get on the scoreboard and then the rest became easy," Argentina coach Alfio Basile said in Buenos Aires.
Riquelme was contracted to Villarreal but hasn't played this season for the Spanish club since falling out with coach Manuel Pellegrini.
Colombia, after missing the last two World Cups, produced a desperate win in Bogota when Ruben Dario Bustos scored off a free kick in the 81st minute against Venezuela.
It was Colombia's first goal in three World Cup qualifiers, after 0-0 draws with Brazil and Bolivia.
In Asuncion, Christian Riveros scored twice, and Nelson Haedo Valdez, Rogue Santa Cruz and Nestor Ayala also found the net at Defensores del Chaco Stadium for Paraguay against winless Ecuador.
Following a 0-0 draw with Peru and 1-0 win over Uruguay, Paraguay led Ecuador 3-0 before a momentary lapse conceded a goal to Ivan Kaviedes in the 80th minute.
But there was still plenty of time for Paraguay's Ayala and Riveros to cap their biggest win over Ecuador since 1988.
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