Football World Cup 2018 / Qualification (CONMEBOL)

the continental association CONMEBOL

The teams of the associations of the South American Football Confederation ( CONMEBOL ) played in the qualification for four firm places for the football World Cup 2018 , another team played in an intercontinental play-off against a representative of another association for a possible fifth place.

FIFA regulations

In the group matches, three points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. The criteria were decided in this order:

1. higher number of points
2. better goal difference
3. higher number of goals scored
4. higher number of points from the direct encounters between teams with the same points and goals
5. better goal difference from the direct encounters between the teams with the same points and goals
6. higher number of goals from direct encounters between teams with equal points and goals
7. higher number of away goals from direct encounters between teams with the same points and goals if only two teams are affected.

If two teams had done the same according to these criteria, a playoff would have been scheduled.

mode

In South America, the qualification was again played in a league system of all ten CONMEBOL members with home and away legs. The four best-placed teams were able to qualify directly for the 2018 World Cup finals, while the fifth-placed team had the opportunity to win another place in an intercontinental play-off against a representative from another association.

Qualifying round

The dates for the games were set on July 25, 2015 at the draw for the other continental associations in the Palace of Constantine in Strelna , Saint Petersburg , Russia . Each team had to play 18 games, four games took place from October 2015, eight games in 2016 and the remaining six in 2017. Places 1–4 qualified directly for the 2018 World Cup . The fifth placed qualified for the intercontinental play-offs against New Zealand (winners of the OFC qualification ).

table

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Brazil	18th	12	5	1	041:110	+30	41
2.	Uruguay	18th	9	4th	5	032:200	+12	31
3.	Argentina	18th	7th	7th	4th	019:160	+3	28
4th	Colombia	18th	7th	6th	5	021:190	+2	27
5.	Peru	18th	7th	5	6th	027:260	+1	26th
6th	Chile	18th	8th	2	8th	026:270	−1	26th
7th	Paraguay	18th	7th	3	8th	019:250	−6	24
8th.	Ecuador	18th	6th	2	10	026:290	−3	20th
9.	Bolivia	18th	4th	2	12	016:380	−22	14th
10.	Venezuela	18th	2	6th	10	019:350	−16	12

Game results

Matchday 1
08/10/2015	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Uruguay	0: 2 (0: 1)
08/10/2015	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Peru	2: 0 (1: 0)
08/10/2015	Puerto Ordaz	Venezuela	-	Paraguay	0: 1 (0: 0)
08/10/2015	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Brazil	2: 0 (0: 0)
08/10/2015	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Ecuador	0: 2 (0: 0)
Matchday 2
13/10/2015	Quito	Ecuador	-	Bolivia	2: 0 (0: 0)
13/10/2015	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Colombia	3: 0 (1: 0)
13/10/2015	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Argentina	0-0
13/10/2015	Fortaleza	Brazil	-	Venezuela	3: 1 (2: 0)
13/10/2015	Lima	Peru	-	Chile	3: 4 (2: 3)
Matchday 3
11/12/2015	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Venezuela	4: 2 (3: 1)
11/12/2015	Quito	Ecuador	-	Uruguay	2: 1 (1: 0)
11/12/2015	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Colombia	1: 1 (1: 0)
11/13/2015 1	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Brazil	1: 1 (1: 0)
11/13/2015	Lima	Peru	-	Paraguay	1: 0 (1: 0)
Matchday 4
11/17/2015	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Argentina	0: 1 (0: 1)
11/17/2015	Puerto Ordaz	Venezuela	-	Ecuador	1: 3 (0: 2)
11/17/2015	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Bolivia	2: 1 (0: 0)
11/17/2015	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Chile	3: 0 (1: 0)
11/17/2015	Salvador	Brazil	-	Peru	3: 0 (1: 0)
Matchday 5
March 24, 2016	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Colombia	2: 3 (0: 2)
March 24, 2016	Quito	Ecuador	-	Paraguay	2: 2 (1: 1)
March 24, 2016	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Argentina	1: 2 (1: 2)
March 24, 2016	Lima	Peru	-	Venezuela	2: 2 (0: 1)
03/25/2016	Recife	Brazil	-	Uruguay	2: 2 (2: 1)
Matchday 6
03/29/2016	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Ecuador	3: 1 (1: 0)
03/29/2016	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Peru	1: 0 (0: 0)
03/29/2016	Cordoba	Argentina	-	Bolivia	2: 0 (2: 0)
03/29/2016	Barinas	Venezuela	-	Chile	1: 4 (1: 1)
03/29/2016	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Brazil	2: 2 (1: 0)
Matchday 7
09/01/2016	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Peru	0: 3 (value.) 2
09/01/2016	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Venezuela	2: 0 (1: 0)
09/01/2016	Quito	Ecuador	-	Brazil	0: 3 (0: 0)
09/01/2016	Mendoza	Argentina	-	Uruguay	1: 0 (1: 0)
09/01/2016	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Chile	2: 1 (2: 1)
Matchday 8
09/06/2016	Merida	Venezuela	-	Argentina	2: 2 (1: 0)
09/06/2016	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Paraguay	4: 0 (3: 0)
09/06/2016	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Bolivia	3: 0 (value.) 2
09/06/2016	Manaus	Brazil	-	Colombia	2: 1 (1: 1)
09/06/2016	Lima	Peru	-	Ecuador	2: 1 (1: 1)
Matchday 9
10/06/2016	Quito	Ecuador	-	Chile	3: 0 (2: 0)
10/06/2016	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Venezuela	3: 0 (1: 0)
10/06/2016	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Colombia	0: 1 (0: 0)
10/06/2016	natal	Brazil	-	Bolivia	5: 0 (4: 0)
10/06/2016	Lima	Peru	-	Argentina	2: 2 (0: 1)

Matchday 10
10/11/2016	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Ecuador	2: 2 (2: 0)
10/11/2016	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Uruguay	2: 2 (1: 1)
10/11/2016	Cordoba	Argentina	-	Paraguay	0: 1 (0: 1)
10/11/2016	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Peru	2: 1 (1: 0)
10/11/2016	Merida	Venezuela	-	Brazil	0: 2 (0: 1)
Matchday 11
11/10/2016	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Chile	0-0
11/10/2016	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Ecuador	2: 1 (2: 1)
11/10/2016	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Peru	1: 4 (1: 0)
11/10/2016	Maturín	Venezuela	-	Bolivia	5: 0 (2: 0)
11/10/2016	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	-	Argentina	3: 0 (2: 0)
Matchday 12
11/15/2016	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Paraguay	1: 0 (0: 0)
11/15/2016	Quito	Ecuador	-	Venezuela	3: 0 (0: 0)
11/15/2016	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Uruguay	3: 1 (1: 1)
11/15/2016	San Juan	Argentina	-	Colombia	3: 0 (2: 0)
11/15/2016	Lima	Peru	-	Brazil	0: 2 (0: 0)
Matchday 13
03/23/2017	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Bolivia	1: 0 (0: 0)
03/23/2017	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Ecuador	2: 1 (1: 0)
03/23/2017	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Brazil	1: 4 (1: 1)
03/23/2017	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Chile	1: 0 (1: 0)
03/23/2017	Maturín	Venezuela	-	Peru	2: 2 (1: 0)
Matchday 14
03/28/2017	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Argentina	2: 0 (1: 0)
03/28/2017	Quito	Ecuador	-	Colombia	0: 2 (0: 2)
03/28/2017	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Venezuela	3: 1 (3: 0)
03/28/2017	São Paulo	Brazil	-	Paraguay	3: 0 (1: 0)
03/28/2017	Lima	Peru	-	Uruguay	2: 1 (1: 1)
Matchday 15
08/31/2017	San Cristobal	Venezuela	-	Colombia	0-0
08/31/2017	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Paraguay	0: 3 (0: 1)
08/31/2017	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Argentina	0-0
08/31/2017	Porto Alegre	Brazil	-	Ecuador	2: 0 (0: 0)
08/31/2017	Lima	Peru	-	Bolivia	2: 1 (0: 0)
Matchday 16
05.09.2017	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Chile	1: 0 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Brazil	1: 1 (0: 1)
05.09.2017	Quito	Ecuador	-	Peru	1: 2 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Uruguay	1: 2 (0: 0)
05.09.2017	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Venezuela	1: 1 (0: 0)
Matchday 17
05.10.2017	La Paz	Bolivia	-	Brazil	0-0
05.10.2017	San Cristobal	Venezuela	-	Uruguay	0-0
05.10.2017	Santiago de Chile	Chile	-	Ecuador	2: 1 (1: 0)
05.10.2017	Barranquilla	Colombia	-	Paraguay	1: 2 (0: 0)
05.10.2017	Buenos Aires	Argentina	-	Peru	0-0
Matchday 18
10/10/2017	São Paulo	Brazil	-	Chile	3: 0 (0: 0)
10/10/2017	Quito	Ecuador	-	Argentina	1: 3 (1: 2)
10/10/2017	Asunción	Paraguay	-	Venezuela	0: 1 (0: 0)
10/10/2017	Lima	Peru	-	Colombia	1: 1 (0: 0)
10/10/2017	Montevideo	Uruguay	-	Bolivia	4: 2 (2: 1)

¹ This game has been postponed by one day due to the unplayability of the course.

²Since Bolivia used the ineligible player Nelson Cabrera twice, against Peru (2-0) on September 1, 2016 and against Chile (0-0) on September 6, 2016, FIFA scored the two games on November 1, 2016 0: 3 against Bolivia. The judgment was confirmed by the CAS at the end of August 2017.

Best goal scorers

Below are the top scorers in the South American World Cup qualifiers. If the number of goals is the same, it is sorted in ascending order according to the number of minutes played.

space	player	Gates	Playtime
01	Edinson Cavani	10	1331
02	Lionel Messi	7th	0900
03	Felipe Caicedo	7th	0992
04th	Alexis Sánchez	7th	1523
05	Gabriel Jesus	6th	793
06th	Paulinho	6th	962
07th	James Rodríguez	6th	1164
08th	Neymar	6th	1232
09	Arturo Vidal	6th	1279
10	Paolo Guerrero	6th	1480
As of October 10, 2017

Web links

• Official FIFA website for qualifying for the 2018 World Cup

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A unanimous decision: A draw will determine the classifications for the World Cup and CONMEBOL Tournaments. In: conmebol.com. CONMEBOL , January 23, 2015, accessed April 25, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Sanction against Bolivia for using a player who is not eligible to play. In: fifa.com. FIFA , November 1, 2016, accessed November 1, 2016 . 
3. ↑ CAS confirms sanction against Bolivia for using a player who is not eligible to play. In: fifa.com. FIFA , August 31, 2017, accessed September 1, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Players - Most goals. In: fifa.com. FIFA, accessed October 11, 2017 .