The South American section of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 7 teams competing 3 berths in the finals.

FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

Tournament details
Dates	4 December 1960 - 5 November 1961
Teams	7[1] (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	6
Goals scored	22 (3.67 per match)
Attendance	260,274 (43,379 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Oreste Corbatta (3 goals)
← 1958 1966 →

Format

Among the 7 teams, Paraguay were drawn to play in the CONMEBOL / CCCF / NAFC Intercontinental Play-off. The remaining 6 teams were divided into 3 groups of 2 teams each. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis with the group winners would qualifying for the final tournament. Brazil did not participate, as they qualified automatically after winning the 1958 World Cup while Chile qualified automatically as hosts. Venezuela did not enter the tournament.

Groups

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	2	2	0	0	11	3	+8	4	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	5–0
2	Ecuador	2	0	0	2	3	11	−8	0			3–6	—

4 December 1960

Ecuador	3–6	Argentina
Spencer 81' Raffo 83', 85'	Report	Corbatta 5' (pen.), 40' Pando 12' Sosa 14' Sanfilippo 47' Ramaciotti 75'

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Robles (Chile)

17 December 1960

Argentina	5–0	Ecuador
Gómez 6' (o.g.) Sanfilippo 53' Corbatta 55' (pen.) Sosa 75' Pando 89'	Report

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Robles (Chile)

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uruguay	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	3	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	2–1
2	Bolivia	2	0	1	1	2	3	−1	1			1–1	—

15 July 1961

Bolivia	1–1	Uruguay
Alcócer 54'	Report	Cubilla 23'

La Paz, Bolivia

Attendance: 22,000

Referee: Robles (Chile)

30 July 1961

Uruguay	2–1	Bolivia
Cabrera 3' Escalada 39'	Report	Camacho 65'

Montevideo, Uruguay

Attendance: 51,695

Referee: Robles (Chile)

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Colombia	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	3	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	1–0
2	Peru	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	1			1–1	—

30 April 1961

Colombia	1–0	Peru
Escobar 27'	Report

Bogotá, Colombia

Attendance: 26,000

Referee: Praddaude (Argentina)

7 May 1961

Peru	1–1	Colombia
Delgado 3' (pen.)	Report	González 68'

Lima, Peru

Attendance: 50,579

Referee: Marino (Uruguay)

Inter-confederation play-offs

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3	Qualification to 1962 FIFA World Cup		—	1–0
2	Paraguay	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	1			0–0	—

Qualified Teams

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
Chile	Hosts	10 June 1956	2 (1930, 1950)
Brazil	Defending champions	29 June 1958	6 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958)
Argentina	Group 1 winners	17 December 1960	3 (1930, 1934, 1958)
Uruguay	Group 2 winners	30 July 1961	3 (1930, 1950, 1954)
Colombia	Group 3 winners	7 May 1961	0 (debut)

¹ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Goalscorers

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal