Diego Maradona made a dream home debut as Argentina coach when his side demolished Venezuela 4-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday while Uruguay and Colombia followed suit with home wins. Uruguay beat South American group leader Paraguay 2-0 while Colombia ended a five-match goal drought as it overcame struggling Bolivia by the same score. Paraguay stayed top of the 10-team South American group with 23 points from 11 games while Argentina went second, four points behind. Brazil, third with 17, visit Ecuador, seventh with 12, on Sunday. Uruguay moved into fourth place with 16 points, ahead of Chile on goal difference, and Colombia climbed to sixth with 14. Chile is away to table-propping Peru on Sunday. The top four teams qualify for South Africa and the fifth plays off against the fourth team from the CONCACAF zone. Lionel Messi inspired Argentina by scoring its first goal and setting up the second on a day which Maradona described as better than fiction. Maradona, who began his reign with friendly wins away to Scotland and France, was given a rousing reception by the crowd when he came onto the field before the game at the Monumental stadium for his first competitive match at the helm. “This was better than I expected, reality has overcome fiction,” said Maradona.
