The road to the 2026 World Cup begins this Thursday (7), for the South American teams. Three games move the 1st round of the Qualifiers that will classify six countries directly for the World Cup, plus one playoff dispute.
With Brazilian football in evidence due to its financial strength, 14 Serie A clubs have given their players to their respective national teams, and will be on the field for their countries. Raphael Veiga, from Palmeiras, Nino and André, from Fluminense, are the only ones who play for Brazil and were summoned to defend Amarelinha.
The team that provided the most players for this 1st round of South American qualifiers was Athletico Paranaense (Esquivel and Zapelli for Argentina, Nava for Bolivia, Canobbio for Uruguay, and Arturo Vida for Chile).
Next comes the Santos team, with four squads: Miguelito and Montero for the Bolivian national team, Rincón and Soteldo for Venezuela. Continuing with the teams from São Paulo, São Paulo transferred Arboleda to the Ecuador team and James Rodríguez to Colombia.
RB Bragantino, on the other hand, transferred two of its players to the Ecuadorian national team. Léo Realpe and Hurtado.Finalizing the summons of the São Paulo teams, Corinthians ceded the Uruguayan Bruno Mendéz and the Paraguayan Matías Rojas.
And there’s crack #OurBest shining around the world! Check out the list of players who were called up for their teams’ commitments on this FIFA Date!
@rodolfo1975 pic.twitter.com/L7hIA415FI
— Brasileirão Assaí (@Brasileirao) September 5, 2023
Leader of the Brasileirão, Botafogo concedes two players to different teams
Botafogo loaned goalkeeper Lucas Perri to the Brazilian national team, and midfielder Jacob Montes to Nicaragua, the country that will play in the Central American and Caribbean qualifiers (Concacaf). However, in the publication made by the official page of the Brasileirão on Twitter, the name of the Nicaraguan was not mentioned.
Thus, the Glorioso fans, used to following the best that happens to the club’s players in this period without games for their favorite team, took the opportunity to pin the list and demand the presence of the player among those listed.
It is worth remembering that the list released by the page mentioned all the players called up for their national teams and who would play in the South American qualifiers.
Jacob Montes in Nicaragua. Where?
— Espaço Glorioso (@EspacoGlorioso) September 5, 2023
Missing the wolf jacob montes!!!
— O Bon Vivant André (@euandrebfr) September 5, 2023
What are the games for the 1st round of the South American Qualifiers?
Three games move the 1st round of the South American Qualifiers this Thursday (7). At 7:30 pm, Paraguay and Peru face each other at Estadio Antonio Aranda, in Ciudad del Este. It will be the meeting between Matías Rojas and former Corinthians player Paolo Guerrero, who, even at 39 years old, remains a technical reference for the Peruvian team.
A little later, at 20:00, James Rodríguez’s Colombia face Soteldo’s Venezuela at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez, in Barranquilla. Closing this Thursday’s games, Argentina faces Ecuador, at 21:00, at the Monumental de Nuñez, in Buenos Aires.
When will Brazil debut in the Qualifiers?
On Friday (8), two more games will end the 1st round of the tournament that will give six direct places for the 2026 World Cup, plus one for the repechage. At 8pm, Puma Rodríguez and Canobbio’s Uruguay face Arturo Vidal’s Chile.
A little later, the Brazilian team debuted against Bolivia, in Fernando Diniz’s first official commitment as coach of Brazil. On Tuesday (12), Brazil faces Peru, in Lima, at 23h (Brasília time).
How many teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup
After 24 years of being played with 32 teams, FIFA decided to innovate in 2026, and increase the number of participating countries to 48. As a result, all continents gained a contingent of more places for the World Cup.
In the case of South America, of the ten countries participating in the World Cup, six will go directly to the tournament, and one will play in the play-off, that is, the continent may have seven participants, an unprecedented number in the history of football.
