After 12 rounds of matches in CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying, the race to reach the finals being held across the USA, Mexico and Canada is getting seriously competitive.
Some of South America's finest have shown their class with most of the usual suspects performing well, and after a very slow start, Brazil now look set to join favourites Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia at the finals in 2026.
The two usual whipping boys of Bolivia and Venezuela have also been proving more competitive than in recent campaigns and look set to battle it out for the playoff spot, with the latter aiming to reach the finals for the first time, and the Bolivians now proving a real problem at their new venue high in mountains at El Alto.
Here, Sports Mole rounds up the current state of play in South America, looking at the standings and some of the most notable results so far.
CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings
UPCOMING FIXTURES
(all kickoffs in UK time)
Uruguay vs. Argentina (19 March, kickoff TBC | Venue TBC)
Peru vs. Bolivia (19 March, kickoff TBC | Venue TBC)
Brazil vs. Colombia (19 March, kickoff TBC | Venue TBC)
Paraguay vs. Chile (19 March, kickoff TBC | Venue TBC)
Ecuador vs. Venezuela (19 March, kickoff TBC | Venue TBC)
The story of CONMEBOL qualifying so far
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After the big headline from October's fixtures was the resurgence of Brazil, under-fire manager Dorival Junior saw his side suffer once again, failing to win any of their two matches in November, but they remain in a comfortable position, five points ahead of Bolivia in the playoff spot.
Uruguay had not won any of their qualifiers in the autumn until November, failing to score a single goal, registering three 0-0 draws and a 1-0 loss to lowly Peru, but they put that right in November, beating Colombia and drawing in Brazil, moving them to within the brink of qualification.
Only Argentina are above La Celeste in the standings, and Lionel Scaloni's World Champions are cruising to the finals with ease, as their tally of 25 points is already close to assuring them of a spot at the World Cup based on previous campaigns, and after beating Peru at home in November, they may well have started planning for the summer of 2026 already.
Colombia were the closest challengers to the Albiceleste, but endured a woeful November, losing back-to-back games against Uruguay and Ecuador and slipping to fourth, falling six points off the summit, but their qualification also still looks hugely likely.
Bolivia's venue change could have huge implications in this section, because a win over Colombia came despite playing with 10 men for 70 minutes, and also beating Venezuela 4-0 there in September suggests Uruguay, Chile and Brazil could encounter great difficulty when they make the trip later in qualifying.
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La Verde are currently seventh in the playoff position, but hypothetically, three home wins would take them to 22 points, a tally that will have a huge chance of being enough to seal at least a playoff spot in the top seven.
Ecuador and Paraguay will be seeking to avoid that happening, as they are the other two nations currently occupying the automatic places, while also being among the dullest international teams anywhere in the world.
Venezuela's dreams of reaching a first ever World Cup are dwindling slightly after a poor run in the autumn schedule, losing away in vital qualifiers to Bolivia and Paraguay, meaning they now find themselves outside of the top seven entirely, after starting October in an automatic qualifying spot.
As for the bottom two, they look dead and buried, and could only play out a 0-0 draw when they met in November, but Chile's big win over Venezuela has taken them above Peru with six matches remaining, but they are still four points adrift of the playoff spot.
Key CONMEBOL qualifying results so far
© Imago
Brazil 1-1 Venezuela (October 2023, Matchday 3)
Perhaps the most damning indictment of Brazil's early precarious situation was a home draw with Venezuela, a team they had only failed to beat once in their history, while it also kick-started a good run of form for Venezuela, who may look back at the end of the campaign at the significance of that point if they are able to reach the finals for the first time.
Argentina 0-2 Uruguay (November 2023, Matchday 5)
The first indication that Bielsa's side could be a huge threat at the finals in 2026 should they qualify as expected, beating the World Champions on their home patch, moving them clear in the automatic qualifying positions.
Brazil 0-1 Argentina (November 2023, Matchday 6)
Brazil's campaign went from bad to worse as they suffered their first ever home World Cup qualifying defeat, and it was against their arch rivals, as Argentina recovered from that slip-up against Uruguay to keep a hold of top spot in the standings.
Colombia 2-1 Argentina (September 2024, Matchday 8)
Argentina are still expected to qualify with a canter, but this result was huge for Colombia, who moved into second place, seven points clear in the auto-qualifying spots, and avenged their Copa America final loss from the summer.
Bolivia 1-0 Colombia (October 2024, Matchday 9)
After a 4-0 win over Venezuela in their first game at their new home ground in El Alto, Bolivia proved that every away side will have difficulty at the suffocating altitude here, instantly boosting their chances of a first finals appearance in 32 years, as they were able to beat second-placed Colombia 1-0 despite playing with 10 men for 70 minutes, with some of the visiting players requiring oxygen to continue midway through the game.
