South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup: Messi remains Messi and Brazil is relieved

• CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup are halfway through

• Argentina continues to lead, Colombia is also in a good position

• Chile and Peru are worrying

South American teams have already played half of the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 26 FIFA World Cup™. It is therefore time to take stock.

Brazil gets back on track

The Seleção can breathe a big sigh of relief at the end of this last international break. For the first time since September last year, the Brazilians recorded two victories in the same international window.

The 2-1 successes against Chile and 4-0 against Peru will allow Dorival Júnior’s team to approach the second half of the qualifying campaign in a much more comfortable position, as they now occupy fourth place . Botafogo stars Luiz Henrique and Igor Jesus, who scored their first goal for the national team, as well as Raphinha, who scored twice against Peru, were the main architects of the Seleção’s success.

Paraguay believes in it

Going back four days, Paraguay had only five points on the clock and qualification for the World Cup seemed a distant dream. The arrival of coach Gustavo Alfaro changed the situation for the Albirroja selection. The Argentine technician’s mandate got off to a flying start: in September, his team held Uruguay in check (0-0) and beat Brazil (1-0).

Another goalless away draw, this time in Ecuador, was followed by an important victory against Venezuela (2-1), which allowed Paraguay to climb to sixth place, among the teams virtually qualified.

Colombia advances, Uruguay continues to suffer

Having been among the leading teams since the start of the campaign, Colombia and Uruguay emerge from this international window with contrasting feelings. La Sele certainly lost to Bolivia in the first of their two matches (1-0), but their 4-0 victory over Chile reinforced the idea that their qualification for 2026 is just a matter of time. question of time.

The Uruguayans, on the other hand, continue their bad patch which dates back to the Copa América. La Celeste has in fact failed to find the net in its last four qualifying matches for the World Cup, notably against Ecuador (0-0) and against Peru (1-0 defeat).

Does Chile have a chance of getting out of this?

Without a victory since the third day, Chile suffered two new defeats during the October window. With only five points in ten matches, La Roja is bottom of the standings. She wants to end an extremely difficult period dating back to the Copa América, where she failed to score a single goal in the group stage.

The 4-0 defeat against Colombia on the tenth day of the qualifiers will certainly have dampened the mood even further.

Messi remains Messi

Everything has probably already been said about Lionel Messi. And yet, the Argentinian magician never stops repeating himself. For his return to the national team after his injury in the Copa América final, the emblematic number 10 wasted no time in making headlines. In the 6-0 home win over Bolivia, Messi scored a hat-trick and provided two assists, helping Argentina widen their gap at the top of the qualifying table.

The Argentinian hero’s hat-trick also allows him to regain the lead in the scorers’ rankings for this qualifying campaign, with six goals.