2026 World Cup qualification: South America
Background
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process for the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) will determine which teams from the confederation will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
A total of six teams from CONMEBOL will qualify for the World Cup. The qualification process will begin in 2023 and will conclude in 2025.
Format
The CONMEBOL qualification process will consist of two stages. In the first stage, the teams will be divided into two groups of five teams. Each team will play each other team in their group twice, home and away.
The top four teams from each group will advance to the second stage, where they will be joined by two teams from the CONCACAF qualification process.
The eight teams in the second stage will be divided into two groups of four teams. Each team will play each other team in their group twice, home and away.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the World Cup.
Schedule
The schedule for the CONMEBOL qualification process has not yet been announced.
Teams
The following teams will participate in the CONMEBOL qualification process:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Qualification criteria
The following criteria will be used to determine which teams qualify for the World Cup:
- The top two teams from each group in the second stage will qualify for the World Cup.
- If two or more teams are tied on points, the following tie-breakers will be used:
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head record
- Fair play points
- Drawing of lots
Odds and favorites
Brazil and Argentina are the heavy favorites to qualify for the World Cup from CONMEBOL. Both teams are ranked among the top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings.
Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile are also expected to be in contention for one of the six qualifying spots.
Impact on the World Cup
The South American teams are always among the favorites to win the World Cup. Brazil has won the World Cup five times, while Argentina has won it twice.
The presence of the South American teams in the World Cup makes the tournament more competitive and exciting.
