# 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

The South American zone of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification saw ten teams competing for places in the finals in South Africa. The format is identical to that used for the previous three World Cup qualification tournaments held by CONMEBOL. Matches were scheduled so that there were always two games within a week, which was aimed at minimizing player travel time, particularly for players who were based in Europe.
The top four teams in the final standings qualified automatically for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fifth-placed team met the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in a two-legged play-off for a place at the World Cup.

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Brazil | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 33 | 11 | +22 | 34 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | — | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Chile | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 33 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | 0–3 | — | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Paraguay | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 33 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| 4 | Argentina | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 20 | +3 | 28 | 2010 FIFA World Cup | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 24 | Inter-confederation play-offs | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 |
| 6 | Ecuador | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 23 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 |
| 7 | Colombia | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 23 | | 0–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| 8 | Venezuela | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 22 | | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | — | 5–3 | 3–1 |
| 9 | Bolivia | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 15 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–0 |
| 10 | Peru | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 34 | −23 | 13 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — |
On 24 November 2008, FIFA suspended the Peruvian Football Federation from all international competition due to governmental interference in its operations. The suspension was lifted on 20 December 2008.

## Matches

The round-by-round fixtures were same as the 2002 and 2006 qualifying tournament.

### Matchday 18
## Inter-confederation play-offs

The team from fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying fourth round (Costa Rica) entered into a home and away play-off against the team which finished fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group (Uruguay). The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 2 June 2009 during the FIFA Congress in Nassau, the Bahamas.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Costa Rica | 1–2 | Uruguay | 0–1 | 1–1 |

## Qualified teams

The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup |
| Brazil | Winners | 5 September 2009 | 18 (all) (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Chile | Runners-up | 10 October 2009 | 7 (1930, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1998) |
| Paraguay | Third place | 9 September 2009 | 7 (1930, 1950, 1958, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Argentina | Fourth place | 14 October 2009 | 14 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Uruguay | CONCACAF v CONMEBOL play-off winners | 18 November 2009 | 10 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002) |
    $^1$ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

## Goalscorers

There were 232 goals scored in 90 matches, for an average of 2.58 goals per match.
10 goals
* Humberto Suazo
9 goals
* Luís Fabiano
8 goals
* Joaquín Botero
7 goals
* Marcelo Moreno
* Diego Forlán
6 goals
* Salvador Cabañas
* Giancarlo Maldonado
5 goals
* Kaká
* Nilmar
* Nelson Valdez
* Sebastián Abreu
* Luis Suárez
4 goals
* Sergio Agüero
* Lionel Messi
* Juan Román Riquelme
* Robinho
* Matías Fernández
* Édison Méndez
* Carlos Bueno
3 goals
* Alexis Sánchez
* Jackson Martínez
* Walter Ayoví
* Christian Benítez
* Cristian Riveros
* Roque Santa Cruz
* Johan Fano
* Diego Lugano
* Juan Arango
* Miku
* José Manuel Rey
2 goals
* Ronald García
* Júlio Baptista
* Gonzalo Jara
* Gary Medel
* Fabián Orellana
* Marcelo Salas
* Rubén Darío Bustos
* Hugo Rodallega
* Iván Kaviedes
* Christian Noboa
* Antonio Valencia
* Óscar Cardozo
* Paulo da Silva
* Hernán Rengifo
* Juan Manuel Vargas
* Sebastián Eguren
* Daniel Arismendi
* Ronald Vargas
1 goal
* Mario Bolatti
* Esteban Cambiasso
* Jesús Dátolo
* Daniel Díaz
* Lucho González
* Gonzalo Higuaín
* Gabriel Milito
* Rodrigo Palacio
* Martín Palermo
* Maxi Rodríguez
* Carlos Tevez
* Juan Carlos Arce
* Álex da Rosa
* Edgar Rolando Olivares
* Didi Torrico
* Gerardo Yecerotte
* Adriano
* Dani Alves
* Elano
* Felipe Melo
* Juan
* Luisão
* Ronaldinho
* Vágner Love
* Jean Beausejour
* Marco Estrada
* Ismael Fuentes
* Rodrigo Millar
* Waldo Ponce
* Jorge Valdivia
* Arturo Vidal
* Radamel Falcao
* Teófilo Gutiérrez
* Dayro Moreno
* Giovanni Moreno
* Adrián Ramos
* Wason Rentería
* Macnelly Torres
* Felipe Caicedo
* Isaac Mina
* Jefferson Montero
* Pablo Palacios
* Carlos Tenorio
* Patricio Urrutia
* Néstor Ayala
* Édgar Benítez
* Piero Alva
* Juan Carlos Mariño
* Andrés Mendoza
* Vicente Sánchez
* Andrés Scotti
* Alejandro Guerra
* Alejandro Moreno
* Alexander Rondón
1 own goal
* Gabriel Heinze (against Paraguay)
* Ronald Rivero (against Venezuela)
* Juan Fuenmayor (against Peru)
Source: FIFA.com: Scorer stats