Argentina vs Ecuador, 5 talking points from the Lionel Messi masterclass

#2. The South American Qualifiers were superb entertainment

Neymar was simply unstoppable this campaign

Chile may have missed out on the big party, but the CONMEBOL edition of the World Cup Qualifiers were an absolute hoot.

Brazil were sublime under Tite, playing their best football in years and in Neymar boasting the best player in this qualifying campaign anywhere. Uruguay were Uruguay - solid, rigid, unbreakable. Argentina had the Messi narrative going for them. Colombia provided plenty of romance with the return of El Tigre.

Peru's storming return to footballing superstardom caught the eye and the fact that both Paraguay and Chile could well have qualified on this final day showed just how close the whole campaign had become.

The bottom-markers Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador all significantly improved when they played with the gay attacking abandon that only those who nothing to lose possess and there is a lesson there for all of them -fortune does, honestly, favour the brave. Oh, that and the fact that there is so much talent in the youth systems across all these less-favoured countries.