Peru booked a World Cup play-off spot against either Australia or the United Arab Emirates with a 2-0 victory over Paraguay on Tuesday, thus dashing the hopes of Colombia and Chile to reach the Qatar extravaganza.

With Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay already qualified, all that was to play for in the final round of South American qualifying was fifth place and an intercontinental play-off.

Both Colombia, who won 1-0 away to Venezuela, and Chile, beaten 2-0 at home by Uruguay, could have qualified with victory had Peru slipped up.

But for the second World Cup qualification campaign in a row, Peru head into a play-off.

Last time they beat New Zealand 2-0 over two legs but their task will be harder this time with a one-off clash against the Socceroos in Qatar in June.

Italy-born Gianluca Lapadula opened the scoring on five minutes in Lima and although debutant Sebastian Ferreira hit the bar soon after for Paraguay, Peru were largely in control.

Yoshimar Yotun doubled the advantage on 42 minutes, acrobatically converting a cross from Edison Flores.

It could have been more comfortable for Peru but Lapadula was twice denied by the woodwork.

Colombia missed out on the play-off by a single point.

Chile struggled throughout the campaign and missed out on the World Cup for the second tournament in a row

Opponents bury FIFA’s biennial World Cup campaign

FIFA is slowly burying a plan to hold a World Cup every two years, which will not even be discussed at the global body’s annual congress this week, and leaders are now seeking other ways to feature top national sides.

While no “concrete talks” have been started, regional confederations are considering a new version of the Confederations Cup featuring teams from Europe and South America, according to a source close to the negotiations.

An idea to enlarge Europe’s League of Nations to take in South American countries has also been mooted, sources said

Talks are expected on the sidelines of the FIFA Congress to be held on Thursday in Doha. But the alternatives are moving slowly as FIFA’s agenda is dominated by sanctions imposed on Russian football after the country’s military offensive in Ukraine.

Russia has been expelled from the race to secure places at this year’s Qatar World Cup. Members will be called upon to back the exclusion at the congress.

The biennial World Cup has been left off the agenda, with only changes to the women’s football calendar scheduled for a vote by the 211 member associations.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino had proposed holding a world championship every two years from 2026.

While Africa and Asia was tempted, the European and South American federations came out strongly against.

Even the International Olympic Committee expressed concerns about the competition calendar and Infantino’s references to two years have dried up.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said this month that a biennial World Cup was a “no go” and that FIFA recognises this.