The next World Cup will have 48 participants, so CONMEBOL will classify more than half of its teams for the highest event.
The 2022 Qatar World Cup won by the Argentina national team was the last to be played with 32 nations. With effect from the 2026 World Cup, which is jointly organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada, the number of participants will be expanded to 48 and a new form of competition will therefore be introduced.
THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO LOCATIONS 2026
One of the confederations that will benefit most from the addition of 16 teams to the tournament is CONMEBOL, where more than half of the 10 teams will be classified for the maximum event.
QUOTES
Because the 2026 World Cup will have 48 teams instead of 32, FIFA has allocated two additional slots for the South American Confederation. In this way the qualifying tournaments will qualify six teams directly for the World Cup, while a seventh gets the chance to play the international repechage for an extra spot.
In this way, only 3 of the 10 countries of the continent are excluded from the World Cup.
ATTENDEES
As always, the qualifiers will be contested by the 10 South American National Federations affiliated to CONMEBOL. Despite being reigning world champion, Argentina must play the qualifying tournament because according to the regulations, his place at the 2026 World Cup is not immediately guaranteed.
The participating teams are:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Colombia
- Chili
- Paraguayan
- Peru
- Venezuela
- Ecuador
- Bolivian
FORMAT
After the expansion of the available places for the World Cup, Alejandro Domínguez promoted the idea of adjusting the CONMEBOL ranking system. And in mid-2022, Brazil presented a proposal to change it to a schedule of two zones of five, with return matches, in order to shorten the calendar and, above all, avoid the possibility that some teams qualify too early and their participation loses meaning. , which would cause problems when it comes to the sale of television rights and disputes with the clubs over the transfer of footballers.
However, at a meeting in late August of the same year, the CONMEBOL council voted unanimously to request FIFA to maintain the format in place since 1995: a unique group, with matches against all and on two wheels, completing a total of 18 dates.
WHEN DO THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUALIFICATIONS BEGIN AND END?
The 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the United States, Mexico and Canada will begin on the FIFA date of September 2023 and will end two years later, in September 2025. The international playoffs are scheduled for March 2026, three months before the start of the World Cup.
THE LUMINAIRE OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN QUALIFICATIONS
DATE 1
DATE 2
DATE 3 (October 9 to 17, 2023)
Colombia-Uruguay
Brazil – Venezuela
Bolivia – Ecuador
Argentina – Paraguay
Chile – Peru
DATE 4 (October 9 to 17, 2023)
Uruguay-Brazil
Peru – Argentina
Venezuela – Chile
Paraguay Bolivia
Ecuador-Colombia
DATE 5 (November 13 to 21, 2023)
Colombia – Brazil
Venezuela-Ecuador
Bolivia – Peru
Argentina – Uruguay
Chile – Paraguay
DATE 6 (November 13 to 21, 2023)
Uruguay-Bolivia
Peru-Venezuela
Brazil – Argentina
Paraguay-Colombia
Ecuador – Chile
DATE 7 (September 2-10, 2024)
Uruguay-Paraguay
Peru-Colombia
Brazil – Ecuador
Bolivia – Venezuela
Argentina – Chile
DATE 8 (September 2-10, 2024)
Colombia – Argentina
Venezuela-Uruguay
Paraguay – Brazil
Chile – Bolivia
Ecuador-Peru
DATE 9 (7 to 15 October 2024)
Peru-Uruguay
Venezuela – Argentina
Bolivia – Colombia
Chile – Brazil
Ecuador-Paraguay
DATE 10 (7 to 15 October 2024)
Uruguay-Ecuador
Colombia – Chile
Brazil – Peru
Paraguay-Venezuela
Argentina – Bolivia
DATE 11 (November 11 to 19, 2024)
Uruguay-Colombia
Peru – Chile
Venezuela – Brazil
Paraguay – Argentina
Ecuador-Bolivia
DATE 12 (November 11 to 19, 2024)
Colombia-Ecuador
Brazil – Uruguay
Bolivia – Paraguay
Argentina – Peru
Chile – Venezuela
DATE 13 (March 17 to 25, 2025)
Uruguay-Argentina
Peru-Bolivia
Brazil – Colombia
Paraguay – Chile
Ecuador-Venezuela
DATE 14 (March 17 to 25, 2025)
Colombia-Paraguay
Venezuela-Peru
Bolivia-Uruguay
Argentina Brazil
Chile – Ecuador
DATE 15 (June 1-9, 2025)
Colombia-Peru
Venezuela-Bolivia
Paraguay-Uruguay
Chile – Argentina
Ecuador – Brazil
DATE 16 (June 1-9, 2025)
Uruguay-Venezuela
Peru-Ecuador
Brazil – Paraguay
Bolivia – Chile
Argentina – Colombia
DATE 17 (September 6 to 14, 2025)
Uruguay-Peru
Colombia-Bolivia
Brazil – Chile
Paraguay-Ecuador
Argentina – Venezuela
DATE 18 (September 6 to 14, 2025)
Peru-Paraguay
Venezuela-Colombia
Bolivia – Brazil
Chile – Uruguay
Ecuador – Argentina
Source: Goal