Nine teams, eight games, seven winners and 27 goals – thank god Conmebol World Cup qualifying is a marathon and not a sprint.

The gruelling two year process kicked off on Friday night, in what’s sure to be the most fiercely contested qualification campaign in the history of the FIFA World Cup. With Brazil qualifying automatically as hosts, Conmebol has 4.5 tickets to the big show to divide between nine eager guests; eight of whom have very realistic hopes of finishing in the top five. Bolivia are the exception, who look off the pace, but coach Gustavo Quinteros can take come consolation in the knowledge that at the dizzy heights of La Paz, his side are likely to enjoy a better home record than their quality would usually permit.

After kicking things off with a 4-2 stuffing at the hands of reigning kings of the continent Uruguay in Montevideo on Friday, Bolivia had hoped to bounce back when they hosted Colombia four days later. At over 3,500 metres above sea level, Bolivia typically burst out of the traps at an extremely high-tempo in La Paz. Pressing and harrying they dominated possession, leaving their giddy opponents and gasping for air. Colombia, to their credit, kept concentration and looked to hit the hosts on counter-attacks spearheaded by Porto’s James – pronounced Ham-ez, he really seems to dislike the Anglophone pronunciation of his name – Rodriguez and Dorlan Pabon. Colombia ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a last minute Radamel Falcao strike in what was an impressive competitive debut for their new coach, the mop topped Leonel Alvarez.

Alvarez, a combative midfielder in Colombia’s ill-fated World Cup ’94 campaign, elected to dedicate the victory to the man he succeeded, Hernan Dario Gomez, who resigned after an unsavoury episode at a bar. “During his time he put love and soul into this,” said Alvarez. “So the victory is dedicated to the teacher, because it was as if he were here with us.”

One team who failed to deal with the air up there were Venezuela. They sent what was pretty much a reserve team to Ecuador early to undergo specialist altitude training, but it proved futile as goals from Jaime Ayoví and former Birmingham City striker Christian Benitez secured an easy victory for Reinaldo Rueda’s side. Venezuelan football, however, is in the midst of the most important phase in its history, and they bounced back with a historic 1-0 win over Argentina in Puerto La Cruz on Tuesday night. “Monumental triumph for La Vino Tino,” roared sports daily Meridiano, whose football section has significantly grown in recent years. “We’ve made history,” added midfielder Cesar Gonzalez. Coach Cesar Farias admitted it was his childhood dream to beat Argentina. Leo Messi and co. had got off to a good start four days previously under new coach Alejandro Sabella, picking off a top-heavy Chile side with consummate ease to run out 4-1 winners in Buenos Aires. But in what looks increasingly likely to become a trend in this round of qualifiers, Bichi Borghi’s Chile hit back on Tuesday night with a 4-2 win over Peru. Bielsa may be long gone, but Chile remain the continent’s perennial entertainers.

Peru finished rock bottom of qualifying for South Africa 2010 but have been transformed under new coach Sergio Markarian, who led them to an unlikely third place finish at the Copa America. His side pummelled Copa America runners-up Paraguay into submission on Friday night in Lima.

Paraguay are in a state of transition following the departure of Gerardo Martino, but while new coach Francisco ‘Chiqui’ Arce – yes, that’s ‘cheeky arse’ – insists his side are heading in the right direction, he has cause for concern. La Albirroja looked completely overawed against Peru, and have been unable to find any real fluidity to their attack since the tragic shooting of Salvador Cabanas. It took a last minute Richard Ortiz goal to save them from defeat at home to Uruguay on Tuesday.

Qualifying continues a month from now when another two nights will present nine teams in eight fixtures, And likely just as much excitement.