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The South American qualifiers are generally considered to be the tightest and fiercest.
The World Cup is the pinnacle of international football, but the process to even make it there begins years in advance.
The qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be different than in the past, as this will be the first tournament with an expanded field of 48 teams. Given the larger pool, more qualifying spots will be up for grabs.
For South America, six nations will directly qualify for the World Cup, with an additional team making it to a playoff match. Ecuador begin their campaign with minus-three points due to falsifying birth documents for a player in their previous World Cup qualification cycle.
Lionel Messi and Neymar are back to lead the two most successful South American footballing nations, while teams like Uruguay and Ecuador begin a new era with new managers. Argentina will be defending their 2022 World Cup title.
The first batch of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers during this international break are as follows.
Paraguay vs. Peru: 6:30pm ET
Colombia vs. Venezuela: 7:00pm ET
Argentina vs. Ecuador: 8:00pm ET
Uruguay vs. Chile: 7:00pm ET
Brazil vs. Bolivia: 8:45pm ET
Bolivia vs. Argentina: 4:00pm ET
Ecuador vs. Uruguay: 5:00pm ET
Venezuela vs. Paraguay: 6:00pm ET
Chile vs. Colombia: 8:30pm ET
Peru vs. Brazil: 10:00pm ET
In the leadup to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Brazil and Argentina cruised to qualification, with neither side losing a single match. Uruguay and Ecuador rounded out the direct qualifications. Peru advanced to the inter-confederation playoffs, but fell on penalty kicks to Australia.
This is how the final table stood.
Chile have not been at the last two World Cups. Paraguay are trying to snap a three-consecutive tournament absence. Bolivia haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 1994. Venezuela have never qualified for a World Cup.
With so much on the line and an expanded qualifying zone, this version of the South American qualifiers figure to be even more contentious than previous years.
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