After 14 rounds of matches in CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying, the race to reach the finals being held across the USA, Mexico and Canada is beginning to take shape.
South America's finest and World Champions Argentina have shown their class across qualifying, becoming the first CONMEBOL nation to book their ticket at the finals with two wins in March's fixtures, and most of the usual suspects behind them are on course to join them, such as Colombia, Uruguay and Brazil, even though they will be reeling from a whopping 4-1 defeat in Argentina.
The two usual whipping boys of Bolivia and Venezuela are still battling intensely to claim the intercontinental playoff spot, while Chile and Peru missed big opportunities to keep their hopes alive during the previous international window.
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)
Colombia vs. Peru (4 June | Location & Kickoff TBC)
Venezuela vs. Bolivia (4 June | Location & Kickoff TBC)
Paraguay vs. Uruguay (4 June | Location & Kickoff TBC)
Chile vs. Argentina (4 June | Location & Kickoff TBC)
Ecuador vs. Brazil (4 June | Location & Kickoff TBC)
The story of CONMEBOL qualifying so far
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With just four matchdays remaining, the five nations which will qualify automatically alongside runaway leaders Argentina already look set in stone.
One of them is expected to be World Cup ever-presents Brazil, but under-fire manager Dorival Junior had another month to forget in March, only narrowly getting over the line against Colombia, before a chastening 4-1 defeat to bitter rivals Argentina, leaving them down in fourth.
The Selecao are level on points with Uruguay and Paraguay, and one ahead of Colombia, but all four look safe inside the top six, with seventh-place Venezuela a fair distance back, ahead of a very tricky final run of fixtures which will see them travel to both Uruguay and Argentina.
That will be a relief to the likes of Uruguay and Colombia, who have both suffered from extremely poor form since the autumn, plummeting down the standings after only recently being close challengers to Argentina.
Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay have won just one of their last eight qualifiers, while Colombia have lost four of the last eight, and they also drew at home to Paraguay last time out, with the expansion of the World Cup benefiting both in what would otherwise have been a very nervy finish to qualifying.
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Only Argentina are above the very impressive Ecuador, who have put a three-point deduction firmly behind them in the quest for a second straight qualification, and even though they also have a challenging run of games to finish qualifying, travelling to Argentina and Brazil, their tickets to North America can almost be booked.
The most intriguing subplot in CONMEBOL is who will claim seventh place, and in doing so, earning themselves a spot in the intercontinental playoffs.
Venezuela and Bolivia will have both viewed the World Cup expansion as an opportunity to break the glass ceiling and reach the finals, and they are set to take that tussle down to the very last gameweek.
The two nations will face off in June, with Venezuela huge favourites due to Bolivia's woeful away record, but La Verde took a point off Uruguay in March at their new home venue at El Alto, which continues to be a huge problem for any visiting nation, and could give them the slight edge in reaching the playoffs.
Chile and Peru were threatening to spoil the party, but both endured a disappointing March and now find themselves five points off the pace and out of form, with time running out for two nations who also missed the 2022 finals.
Key CONMEBOL qualifying results so far
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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)
This was not a damaging defeat for Argentina as they have gone on to reach the finals, but the result was huge for Colombia, who have since suffered a severe drop in form with these three points potentially being crucial in their quest to return to the World Cup after missing out in 2022, while also avenging 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.
Argentina 4-1 Brazil (March 2025, Matchday 13)
This result not only sealed Argentina's place at the finals, it was also a statement of intent from the reigning world champions, and a damning indictment of where Brazil are currently at, as they were utterly outclassed and outfought by Lionel Scaloni's men, who now sit 10 points above them in the standings.
Andrew Delaney
