The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has reaffirmed its desire not to change its region’s qualification system for the 2026 World Cup, maintaining the format, according to which each of the ten teams must play a total of 18 matches.

The decision, unanimously adopted by the Council of the Confederation at a meeting in the capital of Chile, Santiago, will be submitted to the International Football Association (FIFA) for amendment.

During the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Canada, the United States and Mexico, the number of participating teams will increase from 32 to 48.

The South American teams that finished first in the qualifiers, which are held under a single group system, reached the World Cup final in Qatar later this year, finishing fifth as an international addition. For the 2026 edition, six teams will qualify directly, while the seventh will advance to the international playoffs.

But the new qualifying formula FIFA wants sees ten teams divided into two groups of five, with each team playing home and away against five teams from the other group.
The leader and runner-up from each group directly qualifies for the World Championship. Third and fourth place winners compete against each other and the winner advances straight to the final. The losers play for the playoff card.

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador qualified directly for the World Cup in Qatar, which starts on November 20, while Peru, fifth place, fell out in the international play-off on penalties against Australia.