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Paraguay's Nelson Haedo (L) celebrates in front of Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron after scoring during their World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match in Asuncion September 9, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]
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Paraguay sealed a berth to the 2010 World Cup finals with two matches to go after nipping a 1-0 win over Argentina at Asuncion on Wednesday.
Nelson Valdes kicked a superb goal on 27 minutes to settle the match, during which Argentina were reduced to 10 men after veteran midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron committed a second offence in the second half.
After Wednesday's defeat, the two-time World Cup champions, temporarily in the fifth place with 22 points from six wins, four draws and six losses, was left in real danger of missing out on the finals for the first time since 1970.
According to the qualification rules of the South American zone, the top four teams earn tickets for the World Cup finals, while the 5th placed team enters a home-and-away playoff with the 4th placed team from North, Central America and Caribbean.
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Argentina's coach Diego Maradona stands on the sidelines during their World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match against Paraguay in Asuncion September 9, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]
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Earlier on Wednesday, Paraguay President Fernando Lugo decided to grant a holiday to the country's public servants so that they could watch the Paraguay-Argentina soccer match.
"The Presidency of the Republic, through the Decree 2,886, declares a holiday to the public administration workers, decentralized entities, and public education institutions, at Sept. 9, from 3 p.m," the government said.
According to the document, the reason for the holiday was the extreme importance of the Paraguay-Argentina match in the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
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Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron receives the red card from Brazilian referee Salvio Fagundes during their World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match against Paraguay in Asuncion September 9, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]
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