# 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

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.
CONMEBOL was 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.

## Format

On 22 August 2022, 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. This was confirmed, with the first games of the qualifiers tentatively to be played in March or June 2023.
On 27 February 2023, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez announced that the qualifiers would start in September 2023, which was ratified by the CONMEBOL Council in the run-up to the 73rd FIFA Congress held on 16 March in Kigali, Rwanda.
The qualification structure remains the same as in previous editions, despite the increase of slots available to CONMEBOL teams, wherein each team plays each other team twice in a home-and-away round-robin format.
Prior to the commencement of the qualification competition, Ecuador were deducted 3 points for the use of a document containing false information for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.

## Schedule

The qualifying matches are being held in a total of 18 matchdays on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar. 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.
2023 :
| Matchday | Date |
| Matchday 1 | 7–8 September 2023 |
| Matchday 2 | 12 September 2023 |
| Matchday 3 | 12 October 2023 |
| Matchday 4 | 17 October 2023 |
| Matchday 5 | 16 November 2023 |
| Matchday 6 | 21 November 2023 |
2024 :
| Matchday | Date | Ref. |
| Matchday 7 | 5–6 September 2024 | [24][25] [26][27][28] |
| Matchday 8 | 10 September 2024 | [24][25] [26][27][28] |
| Matchday 9 | 10–11 October 2024 | |
| Matchday 10 | 15 October 2024 | |
| Matchday 11 | 14–15 November 2024 | |
| Matchday 12 | 19 November 2024 | |
2025 :
| Matchday | Date |
| Matchday 13 | 20–21 March 2025 |
| Matchday 14 | 25 March 2025 |
| Matchday 15 | 2–10 June 2025 |
| Matchday 16 | 2–10 June 2025 |
| Matchday 17 | 1–9 September 2025 |
| Matchday 18 | 1–9 September 2025 |

## Entrants

All 10 national teams from CONMEBOL entered qualification.
| Team | FIFA World Rankings as of July 2023 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| Brazil | 3 |
| Uruguay | 16 |
| Colombia | 17 |
| Peru | 21 |
| Chile | 32 |
| Ecuador | 40 |
| Paraguay | 49 |
| Venezuela | 57 |
| Bolivia | 83 |

## Standings

Template:2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – COONMEBOL table

## 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.

## Goalscorers

There have been 125 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.08 goals per match (as of 19 November 2024).
6 goals
* Lionel Messi
5 goals
* Darwin Núñez
4 goals
* Miguel Terceros
* Raphinha
* Luis Díaz
* Antonio Sanabria
3 goals
* Lautaro Martínez
* Nicolás Otamendi
* Rodrygo
* Eduardo Vargas
* Enner Valencia
* Nicolás de la Cruz
* Salomón Rondón
2 goals
* Julián Alvarez
* Nicolás González
* Carmelo Algarañaz
* Ramiro Vaca
* Luiz Henrique
* Neymar
* Lucas Cepeda
* James Rodríguez
* Rafael Santos Borré
* Gonzalo Plata
* Félix Torres
* Federico Valverde
* Jefferson Savarino
1 goal
* Thiago Almada
* Paulo Dybala
* Enzo Fernández
* Alexis Mac Allister
* Nicolás Tagliafico
* Víctor Ábrego
* Enzo Monteiro
* Rodrigo Ramallo
* Ervin Vaca
* Henry Vaca
* Gerson
* Igor Jesus
* Gabriel Magalhães
* Marquinhos
* Gabriel Martinelli
* Andreas Pereira
* Marcelino Núñez
* Diego Valdés
* Arturo Vidal
* Jhon Durán
* Andrés Gómez
* Yerson Mosquera
* Juan Fernando Quintero
* Davinson Sánchez
* Luis Sinisterra
* Mateus Uribe
* Ángel Mena
* Alan Minda
* Kendry Páez
* Kevin Rodríguez
* Omar Alderete
* Miguel Almirón
* Julio Enciso
* Diego Gómez
* Miguel Araujo
* Alexander Callens
* Yoshimar Yotún
* Rodrigo Aguirre
* Ronald Araújo
* Agustín Canobbio
* Mathías Olivera
* Manuel Ugarte
* Jon Aramburu
* Eduard Bello
* Darwin Machís
* Ruben Ramírez
* Telasco Segovia
* Yeferson Soteldo
1 own goal
* Gabriel Villamíl (against Uruguay)
* Davinson Sánchez (against Uruguay)
* Tomás Rincón (against Chile)