The playing field in the CONMEBOL region for the World Cup 2026 is set, as 18 matchdays were completed last night. Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay secured the Top 6 spots to book their tickets to next year’s festivities.
Argentina dropped their final game, but they still finished head and shoulders above the rest with 38 points. Ecuador took the solo second seed with 29 points. Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Paraguay are all level at 28 points each, with Colombia and Uruguay having the superior goal difference at +10.
On the other hand, Bolivia finished seventh in the table, taking a spot in the inter-confederation play-offs, which makes their World Cup journey even more complicated. However, at least they’re not yet out of the picture, unlike Venezuela, Peru, and Chile, which finished eighth, ninth, and 10th.
In case you missed it, here’s an SBOTOP recap of the latest World Cup 2026 updates from South America.
Bolivia score massive Brazil upset
Bolivia defied the World Cup 2026 odds to keep their World Cup hopes alive with an unlikely 1-0 win over Brazil at El Alto yesterday. Bruno Guimaraes tripped Roberto Fernandez inside the box, and Miguel Terceros calmly converted the penalty right before halftime. It was the first goal conceded by Brazil under head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s command.
After halftime, Ancelotti subbed in Marquinhos, Raphinha, Joao Pedro, and Estevao, but Brazil couldn’t find their rhythm on the field or pose any threat to Bolivia’s goalkeeper. The Selecao almost went down by two goals late, but Alisson pulled off a miraculous save on Carmelo Algarañaz’s header to prevent a bigger deficit on the scoreboard.
Bolivia finally overcame Brazil at home for the first time since 2019, while Brazil has scored fewer than 30 points in the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the first time in this round-robin format with 10 teams (since 1996). This is the worst campaign the Selecao has had since 2002, when they finished in third place with 30 points.
Bolivia leapfrogged Venezuela, so they are through to the inter-confederation play-offs, where they’ll face one of two CONCACAF sides or one nation from AFC, OFC, and CAF. The mini-tournament for the final World Cup berths will commence in March 2026, three months before the actual World Cup.
Colombia sent Venezuela packing
Luis Suarez (not from Inter Miami) took the spotlight in Colombia’s 6-3 win yesterday against Venezuela at Estadio Monumental de Maturin. The 27-year-old forward from Sporting scored a whopping four goals, including three in the second half, to put the game beyond reach.
Telasco Segovia scored the first goal of the match in the third minute to give Venezuela a one-goal advantage early. Yerry Mina and Josef Martinez exchanged goals a few minutes later before Suarez went on a scoring rampage. Salomon Rondon and Jhon Cordoba also exchanged goals 15 minutes after the hour mark to make the scoreboard look more respectable for the hosts.
It’s a disappointing night for the hosts because the loss (and Bolivia’s win) eliminated them from World Cup contention. Until today, La Vinotinto have yet to qualify for the World Cup and will have to wait longer. In contrast, Colombia didn’t really need to win this game, as they had already qualified.
Ecuador clinch second place
Ecuador also had another upset win, as they defeated Argentina 1-0 to solidify their second seed in the CONMEBOL table. Enner Valencia, who reached 100 caps, scored from the penalty spot right before halftime after Angelo Preciado was fouled inside the box by left-back Nicolas Tagliafico.
Both sides were reduced to 10 men, as Nicolas Otamendi received a straight red card in the 31st minute for pushing Valencia down to the ground, and Moises Caicedo received his second yellow card in the 50th minute for his collision with Nicolas Gonzalez. However, that didn’t stop La Tri from earning three points.
Argentina looked inferior in the final third without Lionel Messi, who played his final game for the country last Thursday against Venezuela, as they didn’t have a single shot on target. Franco Mastantuono wore the No. 10 jersey (previously worn by Messi) last night.
Ecuador deserve to qualify for the World Cup because they’ve been one of the best defensive teams in South America, having conceded only five goals across 18 matches. La Tri have lost just twice in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, which is quite impressive. In other results, Chile and Uruguay shared the spoils in a goalless draw, and Paraguay won 1-0 against Peru, courtesy of Matias Galarza’s 78th-minute goal to end their qualifying campaign on a positive note.
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