Lionel Messi struggled in the thin air of La Paz, fluffing a gilt-edged chance to end his goal drought against Bolivia, while Colombia marksman Radamel Falcao was kept scoreless in Venezuela on Tuesday.

However, with a rampant Ecuador crushing Paraguay 4-1 in Quito, South America’s top three teams remain in charge of their World Cup qualifying chances as the race for the region’s fourth direct ticket to the 2014 finals in Brazil hots up.

Uruguay, Copa America holders and the region’s best-performing team at the 2010 World Cup, lost 2-0 in Chile and sank below the qualifying line as their opponents and Venezuela climbed above them into fourth and fifth.

Argentina managed well in the thin air at nearly 4,000 metres in La Paz to draw 1-1 with Bolivia, putting behind them the 6-1 defeat suffered by the team coached by Diego Maradona four years ago. But they might have won had Messi made the most of a late chance.

Colombia went to Venezuela seeking a fifth win in a row after their 5-0 rout of Bolivia at home on Friday but they came away empty-handed as Jose Salomon Rondon scored the only goal for the home side.

Ecuador made it six wins out of six home matches in their Ata-hualpa stronghold nearly 3,000 metres up in the Andes mountains, with two goals from striker Jefferson Montero.

Musical chairs for the top three places has Argentina at home to Colombia on June 7 and visiting Ecuador in Quito four days later after the Ecuadorians’ trip to Peru.

Colombia host the Peruvians on their return from Argentina.

Fifth place, currently occupied by Venezuela, is valid for a play-off with a qualifier from Asia.

Venezuela, who have improved in leaps and bounds over the last decade with a first Copa America semi-final in Argentina in 2011 the highlight, can dare to dream of playing their first World Cup.

They edged into fifth place on 15 points, equal with Chile if behind them on goals scored, leaving Uruguay sixth with 13.

Peru can still vie for a berth in their remaining six matches but Bolivia, with nine points, and 2010 quarter-finalists Paraguay with eight, face an almost impossible task to keep pace.

Standings