Caracas  - Venezuela obtained a crucial 2-0 home win over direct rival Colombia late Tuesday in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The result leaves Colombia on 14 points from 12 games, with Venezuela on 13 points. If the qualifiers were to end now, neither team would continue to South Africa.

Despite Abel Aguirre being sent off in the first half, Venezuela could not crack the game until the last quarter-of-an-hour of play in Puerto Ordaz.

Nicolas Fedor opened the score - albeit possibly in an offside position - in the 76th minute, barely three minutes after coming onto the pitch from the bench as a substitute. Just five minutes later, Venezuela captain Juan Arango made things 2-0 with a beautifully executed free-kick.

In South America's World Cup qualifiers, each of the 10 sides plays each of the other nine teams at home and away. The top four win a place in the event. The fifth-placed team has a chance to advance through a play-off against a representative of the North, Central American and Caribbean region.

On Wednesday, the 12th round of the South American qualifiers is set to end with Chile-Uruguay, Brazil-Peru, Bolivia-Argentina and Ecuador-Paraguay.

Ahead of those games, Paraguay top the table with 23 points in 11 matches, while Argentina and Chile have 19 points each and Brazil are on 18. (dpa)