BUENOS AIRES, Sept 7: World Cup qualification celebrations in Argentina and Colombia were put on hold until at least the next round of South American fixtures after Uruguay eked out a vital 2-1 victory over Peru in Lima on Friday.

Luis Suarez netted twice to keep Uruguay very much in the picture for next year’s finals in Brazil as he moved top of the scorers’ standings on 10 goals, one more than Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain.

Higuain will not be able to recover the lead in next week’s fixtures as he is suspended for group leader Argentina’s visit to improved Paraguay in Asuncion, where Lionel Messi’s team will be hoping to secure a ticket to Brazil.

Colombia were on target for a first finals appearance in 16 years after their 1-0 home win over Ecuador in a storm-lashed Barranquilla but Suarez’s goals mean they need to avoid defeat against Uruguay in Montevideo on Tuesday to advance.

James Rodriguez scored the sole goal in the 30th minute for Colombia, who are level on 26 points with Argentina atop the nine-team group, two points ahead of Chile.

With Chile defeating Venezuela 3-0 in Santiago to move up to third, Ecuador dropped down to fourth.

Chile’s hopes of claiming one of the four automatic qualifying spots were given a huge lift thanks to goals from Eduardo Vargas, Marcos Gonzalez and Arturo Vidal.

However, Venezuela (16 points), Peru (14) and even Paraguay (11), who enjoyed a 4-0 rout of Bolivia in Asuncion, could still vie for the playoff berth if Ecuador (21) and Uruguay (19) stumble in the final matches.

Results:

Colombia 1 Ecuador 0

Paraguay 4 Bolivia 0

Chile 3 Venezuela 0

Peru 1 Uruguay 2

—Agencies