2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Tournament details
Dates7 September 2023 – September 2025
Teams10 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played30
Goals scored55 (1.83 per match)
Attendance1,276,042 (42,535 per match)
Top scorer(s)Uruguay Darwin Núñez
(5 goals)
← 2022
2030 →
All statistics correct as of 21 November 2023.

The South American section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in Canada, the United States, and Mexico for national teams who are members of CONMEBOL. A total of 6 direct slots in the final tournament and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot are available for CONMEBOL teams.[1][2]

CONMEBOL is the first confederation to begin its qualification process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Paraguay-Peru being the first match of the global qualification process.[3][4]

Format

On 22 August 2022, the CONMEBOL sent a request to FIFA asking to keep the current qualification format that has been used since the 1998 World Cup qualification in South America.[5][6][7] This was confirmed, with the first games of the qualifiers tentatively to be played in March or June 2023.[8][9][10]

On 27 February 2023, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez announced that the qualifiers would start in September 2023,[11][12] which was ratified by the CONMEBOL Council in the run-up to the 73rd FIFA Congress held on 16 March in Kigali, Rwanda.[13][14]

The qualification structure will remain the same as in previous editions, despite the increase of slots available to CONMEBOL teams. The ten teams play in a league of home-and-away round-robin format.[15]

Prior to the commencement of the qualification competition, Ecuador were deducted 3 points for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.[16]

Schedule

The qualifying matches are being held in a total of 18 matchdays on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar.[17] The match schedule is the same that was used in the previous edition of the competition. Six matchdays will be played in 2023, six in 2024 and also six in 2025.[15]

2023
Matchday Date Ref.
Matchday 1 7–8 September 2023 [18][19]
Matchday 2 12 September 2023
Matchday 3 12 October 2023 [20][21]
Matchday 4 17 October 2023
Matchday 5 16 November 2023 [22][23]
Matchday 6 21 November 2023
2024
Matchday Date Ref.
Matchday 7 2–10 September 2024
Matchday 8
Matchday 9 7–15 October 2024
Matchday 10
Matchday 11 11–19 November 2024
Matchday 12
2025
Matchday Date Ref.
Matchday 13 17–25 March 2025
Matchday 14
Matchday 15 2–10 June 2025
Matchday 16
Matchday 17 1–9 September 2025
Matchday 18

Entrants

All 10 national teams from CONMEBOL entered qualification.

Team July 2023
FIFA World Rankings[24]
 Argentina 1
 Brazil 3
 Uruguay 16
 Colombia 17
 Peru 21
 Chile 32
 Ecuador 40
 Paraguay 49
 Venezuela 57
 Bolivia 83

Standings

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Argentina Uruguay Colombia Venezuela Ecuador Brazil Paraguay Chile Bolivia Peru
1  Argentina 6 5 0 1 8 2 +6 15 2026 FIFA World Cup — 0–2 Jun '25 Sep '25 1–0 Mar '25 1–0 Sep Oct Nov
2  Uruguay 6 4 1 1 13 5 +8 13 Mar '25 — Nov Jun '25 Oct 2–0 Sep 3–1 3–0 Sep '25
3  Colombia 6 3 3 0 6 3 +3 12 Sep 2–2 — 1–0 Nov 2–1 Mar '25 Oct Sep '25 Jun '25
4  Venezuela 6 2 3 1 6 3 +3 9 Oct Sep Sep '25 — 0–0 Nov 1–0 3–0 Jun '25 Mar '25
5  Ecuador[a] 6 3 2 1 5 3 +2 8 Sep '25 2–1 0–0 Mar '25 — Jun '25 Oct 1–0 Nov Sep
6  Brazil 6 2 1 3 8 7 +1 7 0–1 Nov Mar '25 1–1 Sep — Jun '25 Sep '25 5–1 Oct
7  Paraguay 6 1 2 3 1 3 −2 5 Inter-confederation play-offs Nov Jun '25 0–1 Oct Sep '25 Sep — Mar '25 1–0 0–0
8  Chile 6 1 2 3 3 7 −4 5 Jun '25 Sep '25 0–0 Nov Mar '25 Oct 0–0 — Sep 2–0
9  Bolivia 6 1 0 5 4 14 −10 3 0–3 Mar '25 Oct Sep 1–2 Sep '25 Nov Jun '25 — 2–0
10  Peru 6 0 2 4 1 8 −7 2 0–2 Oct Sep 1–1 Jun '25 0–1 Sep '25 Nov Mar '25 —
Updated to match(es) played on 21 November 2023. Source: FIFA
Notes:
  1. ^ Ecuador were deducted 3 points for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.[25]

Matches

Matchday 1

Paraguay 0–0 Peru
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este
Attendance: 16,211
Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)
Colombia 1–0 Venezuela
  • Borré 46'
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Attendance: 43,084
Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)
Argentina 1–0 Ecuador
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
Attendance: 84,500
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Uruguay 3–1 Chile
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
Attendance: 49,713
Referee: Darío Herrera (Argentina)
Brazil 5–1 Bolivia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Mangueirão, Belém
Attendance: 48,183
Referee: Juan Gabriel Benítez (Paraguay)

Matchday 2

Bolivia 0–3 Argentina
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (Uruguay)
Ecuador 2–1 Uruguay
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
Attendance: 35,613
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
Venezuela 1–0 Paraguay
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental, Maturín
Attendance: 48,523
Referee: Andrés Rojas (Colombia)
Chile 0–0 Colombia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago
Attendance: 22,153
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
Peru 0–1 Brazil
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Nacional, Lima
Attendance: 36,328
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

Matchday 3

Colombia 2–2 Uruguay
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Attendance: 43,915
Referee: Piero Maza (Chile)
Bolivia 1–2 Ecuador
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Attendance: 34,200
Referee: Cristian Garay (Chile)
Argentina 1–0 Paraguay
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Chile 2–0 Peru
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago
Attendance: 36,847
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Brazil 1–1 Venezuela
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá
Attendance: 39,018
Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)

Matchday 4

Venezuela 3–0 Chile
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental, Maturín
Attendance: 50,932
Referee: Flavio de Souza (Brazil)
Paraguay 1–0 Bolivia
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción[note 2]
Attendance: 30,681
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
Ecuador 0–0 Colombia
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
Attendance: 38,702
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
Uruguay 2–0 Brazil
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
Attendance: 52,477
Referee: Alexis Herrera (Venezuela)
Peru 0–2 Argentina
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Nacional, Lima
Attendance: 37,675
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)

Matchday 5

Bolivia 2–0 Peru
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero (Ecuador)
Venezuela 0–0 Ecuador
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental, Maturín
Attendance: 51,083
Referee: Juan Gabriel Benítez (Paraguay)
Colombia 2–1 Brazil
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Attendance: 44,604
Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)
Argentina 0–2 Uruguay
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
La Bombonera, Buenos Aires
Attendance: 51,900
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
Chile 0–0 Paraguay
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONMEBOL)
Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago
Attendance: 30,076
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)

Matchday 6

Paraguay 0–1 Colombia
Report (FIFA)
Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
Attendance: 25,190
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
Uruguay 3–0 Bolivia
 Report (FIFA)
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
Attendance: 46,100
Referee: Kevin Ortega (Peru)
Ecuador 1–0 Chile
 Report (FIFA)
Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
Attendance: 36,873
Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)
Brazil 0–1 Argentina
Report (FIFA)
Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
Attendance: 68,138
Referee: Piero Maza (Chile)
Peru 1–1 Venezuela
 Report (FIFA)
Estadio Nacional, Lima
Attendance: 27,323
Referee: Darío Herrera (Argentina)

Matchday 7

Uruguay Match 31 Paraguay
Peru Match 32 Colombia
Brazil Match 33 Ecuador
Bolivia Match 34 Venezuela
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Argentina Match 35 Chile

Matchday 8

Colombia Match 36 Argentina
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Venezuela Match 37 Uruguay
Estadio Monumental, Maturín
Paraguay Match 38 Brazil
Chile Match 39 Bolivia
Ecuador Match 40 Peru

Matchday 9

Peru Match 41 Uruguay
Venezuela Match 42 Argentina
Bolivia Match 43 Colombia
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Chile Match 44 Brazil
Ecuador Match 45 Paraguay

Matchday 10

Uruguay Match 46 Ecuador
Colombia Match 47 Chile
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Brazil Match 48 Peru
Paraguay Match 49 Venezuela
Argentina Match 50 Bolivia

Matchday 11

Uruguay Match 51 Colombia
Peru Match 52 Chile
Venezuela Match 53 Brazil
Paraguay Match 54 Argentina
Ecuador Match 55 Bolivia

Matchday 12

Colombia Match 56 Ecuador
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Brazil Match 57 Uruguay
Bolivia Match 58 Paraguay
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Argentina Match 59 Peru
Chile Match 60 Venezuela

Matchday 13

Uruguay Match 61 Argentina
Peru Match 62 Bolivia
Brazil Match 63 Colombia
Paraguay Match 64 Chile
Ecuador Match 65 Venezuela

Matchday 14

Colombia Match 66 Paraguay
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Venezuela Match 67 Peru
Bolivia Match 68 Uruguay
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Argentina Match 69 Brazil
Chile Match 70 Ecuador

Matchday 15

Colombia Match 71 Peru
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Venezuela Match 72 Bolivia
Paraguay Match 73 Uruguay
Chile Match 74 Argentina
Ecuador Match 75 Brazil

Matchday 16

Uruguay Match 76 Venezuela
Peru Match 77 Ecuador
Brazil Match 78 Paraguay
Bolivia Match 79 Chile
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Argentina Match 80 Colombia

Matchday 17

Uruguay Match 81 Peru
Colombia Match 82 Bolivia
Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
Brazil Match 83 Chile
Paraguay Match 84 Ecuador
Argentina Match 85 Venezuela

Matchday 18

Peru Match 86 Paraguay
Venezuela Match 87 Colombia
Bolivia Match 88 Brazil
Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
Chile Match 89 Uruguay
Ecuador Match 90 Argentina

Inter-confederation play-offs

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The seventh-placed team will join one team each from AFC, CAF, and OFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the World Cup in United States, Canada, and Mexico.[28]

Goalscorers

There have been 55 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 1.83 goals per match (as of 21 November 2023).

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

  1. ^ The Bolivia v Ecuador match, originally scheduled at 16:00 local time,[21] was rescheduled to 19:00 local time by decision of the Bolivian Football Federation.[26][27]
  2. ^ The Paraguay v Bolivia match, originally scheduled at Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este,[21] was rescheduled at Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción by decision of the Paraguayan Football Association.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™". FIFA. 30 March 2017.
  2. ^ "FIFA Council prepares Congress, takes key decisions for the future of the FIFA World Cup™". FIFA. 9 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 set to begin". FIFA. 28 August 2023.
  4. ^ "CONMEBOL kick off journey of "great joy and happiness" to historic FIFA World Cup 2026™, says FIFA President". FIFA. 7 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Conselho da Conmebol solicita à Fifa que mantenha formato atual das Eliminatórias para 2026". ge (in Portuguese). globo.com. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  6. ^ "CONMEBOL's petition for the 2026 World Cup that could change FIFA's entire plans". Bolavip. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Países sudamericanos pedirán a la FIFA mantener el formato de las Eliminatorias" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Conmebol confirmó fecha para el inicio de las Eliminatorias 2026". Bolavip (in Spanish). 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  9. ^ Verdezoto, Kevin (8 December 2022). "Eliminatorias Conmebol iniciarían en junio del 2023; primera fecha FIFA sería en marzo" (in Spanish). Ecuavisa. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Eliminatorias 2026: ¿cuándo arranca la clasificatoria sudamericana?" (in Spanish). Futbolred. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Eliminatorias Sudamericanas iniciarán entre septiembre y octubre" (in Spanish). Olé. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Alejandro Domínguez confirmó que las Eliminatorias comenzarán en septiembre" (in Spanish). Directv Sports. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  13. ^ "El Consejo de Conmebol aprobó por unanimidad el inicio de las Eliminatorias en septiembre" (in Spanish). Doble Amarilla. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Conmebol definió el calendario para las Eliminatorias rumbo al Mundial 2026" (in Spanish). América Televisión. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  15. ^ a b "El calendario de partidos para las Eliminatorias Sudamericanas" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  16. ^ "The CAS confirms the eligibility of the player Byron Castillo (Ecuador) but imposes sanctions against the Ecuadorian Football Federation for a violation of the FIFA regulations" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 8 November 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Men's International Match Calendar 2023-2030" (PDF). FIFA. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Regresan las Eliminatorias Sudamericanas" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Eliminatorias FWC2026 Calendario de Partidos Jornadas 1 y 2" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Fechas 3 y 4 de las Eliminatorias Sudamericanas" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 23 August 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "Eliminatorias FWC2026 Calendario de Partidos Jornadas 3 y 4" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  22. ^ "El Fixture para las Fechas 5 y 6" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 9 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Eliminatorias FWC2026 Calendario de Partidos Jornadas 5 y 6" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  24. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking". FIFA.com. 20 July 2023.
  25. ^ "The CAS confirms the eligibility of the player Byron Castillo (Ecuador) but imposes sanctions against the Ecuadorian Football Federation for a violation of the FIFA regulations" (PDF). Court of Arbitration for Sport. 8 November 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Actualizado el calendario de las Fechas 3 y 4" (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 September 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Eliminatorias FWC2026 Jornadas 3 y 4.pdf" (PDF) (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 21 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
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