The South American qualifiers at FIFA’s October date began to show the direction of each country with an eye on the 2026 World Cup. After the 9th and 10th rounds, Brazil were the only ones to earn the six points in contention, climbing one place up in the ranking. table. Furthermore, the battle for the top six positions is starting to narrow with practically one round to go.
This is because of the continent’s ten teams, two of them appear well down in the points, with little chance of competing at the World Cup. These are the cases of Peru and Chile, which are in penultimate and last place, respectively, with six and five points. Venezuela, which is just ahead of the pair, for example, already has 11.
At the top of the table, Argentina, the current world champions, remain isolated at the top with 22 points. Colombia, with recent Copa America runners-up in the United States, continues the chase for second place with 19. Uruguay and Brazil, both with 16, and Ecuador and Paraguay, with 13, round out the table.
Bolivia appears in seventh place, which would normally be South America’s representative in the repechage. Under Conmebol rules, the group from first to sixth in the qualifiers are guaranteed the 2026 World Cup – whoever finishes immediately behind them will have to compete in the FIFA play-offs. However, the opponent has not been determined.
