CARACAS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela national team manager Jose Peseiro has expressed concern about looming fixture congestion as the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) seeks ways to complete 2022 World Cup qualifiers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
CONMEBOL on Saturday suspended its next double header of qualifiers - which had been scheduled for later this month - saying that contagion risks and quarantine rules made the fixtures unviable.
"What can we do? It is suspended and for us it is getting worse and worse, we have more and more games ahead of us," Peseiro told reporters on Sunday. "But we have to accept it. Health comes first," the Portuguese coach added.
The decision means CONMEBOL and FIFA will need to find new dates for the fixtures in a crowded football calendar. The South American zone qualifiers were already running behind their original schedule because of coronavirus-related lockdowns and travel restrictions last year.
Venezuela had been due to play Ecuador in Caracas on March 25 and Peru in Lima five days later. The Vinotinto are currently eighth in the 10-team South American zone standings with three points from four matches.
The top four teams in the CONMEBOL group will earn a berth in the next edition of football's showpiece international tournament, to be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022. The fifth-ranked side will advance to an intercontinental playoff.
South America has been one of the worst-affected regions by COVID-19. Last Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry reported 1,910 coronavirus fatalities, the highest single-day death toll since the pandemic began. Enditem
