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During the last international break of 2024, we reached the twelve-match mark in the CONMEBOL zone’s FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, with six matches remaining as the process has now reached the two-thirds mark. As always, South American international football has been the place to be of late, with involvement in the events in Mexico, Canada and the US raising the stakes even further. Argentina are still ahead but are now followed by Uruguay and have a five-point lead, while Paraguay were arguably the big winners in November with a famous win over Lionel Messi’s Albiceleste and then a late draw with positional rivals Bolivia.
We look at the teams that didn’t do so well.
Standings
- Argentina, 25 points (+14 GD)
- Uruguay, 20 points (+8 GD)
- Ecuador, 19 points (+7 GD)
- Colombia, 19 points (+5 GD)
- Brazil, 18 points (+6 GD)
- Paraguay, 17 points (+1 GD)
- Bolivia, 13 points (-14 GD)
- Venezuela, 12 points (-4 GD)
- Chile, 9 points (-11 GD)
- Peru, 7 points (-12 GD)
Peru
Having bottomed out with seven points from 12 games, Jorge Fossati’s men are currently two points behind upwardly mobile Chile as 2024 draws to a close. La Bicolor are six points back in seventh, the play-off spot, and will rue a missed opportunity to gain ground on the Chileans with a 0-0 draw last week, which could be costly. Sure, the Peruvians only narrowly lost 1-0 to Argentina in Buenos Aires, but there are no points for that, especially in a cutthroat area like CONMEBOL. It might have been more respectable, but Chile’s 4-2 win against Venezuela means the battles between Bolivia and Vinotinto are now crucial for Fossati and his players. Even then, Paraguay is perhaps the Blanquirroja’s most winnable fixture, with Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay also to follow.
Panic meter rating: 9/10
Venezuela
Currently, the Venezuelans are falling behind in the race for a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They are in eighth place, one point behind Bolivia in the race for the play-off place. However, a five-point lead over Paraguay in the last automatic spot means it’s already essentially a race between Vinotinto and La Verde for that play-off berth. Peru and the Bolivians are perhaps the only matches Fernando Batista’s forces can really hope to win, so anything against Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina or Colombia could prove crucial. A draw against Brazil this month was worthy of honour, but a 4-2 defeat to Chile was poor and took that away as soon as it was deserved.
Panic meter rating: 6/10
Colombia
The Cafeteros have fallen to fourth place after an unexpected pair of potentially damaging losses this month. The Colombians went down 3-2 to Uruguay in very late circumstances when a point seemed within reach, and then a narrow 1-0 defeat to Ecuador, despite playing 11 to 10 for most of the match , did not satisfy Nestor Lorenzo at all. . From second place to the two-point lead over the last automatic spot, Colombia is at least six points ahead of the play-offs. However, they are now also six points behind leaders Argentina, while Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela are likely to see some more points in the remaining matches. It could be that Brazil and the Albiceleste results will determine the race for first place, as far as James Rodriguez and his teammates are concerned.
Panic meter rating: 3/10
Brazil
The Selecao finished the year in fifth place after drawing against both Venezuela and Uruguay. They are five points ahead of the play-offs but are now seven points behind leaders and bitter rivals Argentina. Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos called on fans not to turn their backs on the Brazilian team, but Dorival Junior and his players are still holding up well after that. A tough first series involving Colombia, Argentina and Ecuador means things could get worse before they get better for Vinicius Junior and his compatriots. There is no choice but to hope that the final set of games, including Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, will ultimately yield crucial points so that we are not dragged closer to the play-offs as the games progress.
Panic meter rating: 8/10