Argentina have slipped to fourth in the South American World Cup qualifying group and fell behind early to a goal by Igor Semshov in the 17th minute.

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"This is the final of the World Cup for the South American teams, " Chelsea's interim manager Benitez told reporters.

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Also on Friday, FIFA confirmed that Brazil will not be completely ready to host June's Confederations Cup -- a precursor event to next year's World Cup in the South American country.

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The South American country's preparations for its second World Cup -- and first in more than 60 years -- have been beset by problems.

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The 22-year-old Messi helped the Catalan giants to the Spanish La Liga and European Champions League titles as well as the Copa Del Rey, while his Argentina side scraped into the World Cup finals after finishing fourth in their South American qualifying campaign.

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Three successive defeats by Ecuador, Brazil and Paraguay have left Argentina fifth in the South American standings and in serious danger of missing out on the World Cup for the first time since 1970.

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Colombia has not appeared at the World Cup finals since 1998, but is third in the South American qualifying section.

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In a wide-ranging press conference following Friday's FIFA executive committee meeting, Blatter also addressed concerns about security at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil following the midweek problems at a top South American club match in Sao Paulo.

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With the 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games to be staged in Brazil , the South American's growing sporting prominence has been recognized with the addition of a second Brazilian tournament in Florianopolis for 2014, adding to an event which will debut in Rio de Janiero this year.

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