2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 October 2015 – 10 October 2017 |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 90 |
| Goals scored | 242 (2.69 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,365,010 (37,389 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Edinson Cavani(10 goals) |
← 2014 2022 → | |
| Qualification for championships (CONMEBOL) |
|---|
The South American section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). A total of 4.5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament were available for CONMEBOL teams.[1]
Two-time defending Copa América champions Chile did not qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup after a 3–0 loss to Brazil on the final day of qualifying campaign, resulting in a sixth-place finish. As a result, following intercontinental play-offs against the record five-time OFC Nations Cup champions New Zealand, Peru qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1982.
Format
The qualification structure was the same as for the previous five tournaments. The ten teams played in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were determined by draw, which was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.[2]
For scheduling reasons, Argentina and Brazil were automatically positioned as Teams 4 and 5 respectively to ensure that no team has to play both of them on any double matchday.[3][4] The remaining eight teams were drawn into one of the remaining eight positions from Teams 1 to 10 (except 4 and 5).
Entrants
All ten national teams from CONMEBOL entered qualification.[5]
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Peru advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
| Draw position[6] |
Team | FIFA ranking at start of event[7] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colombia |
5 |
| 2 |  Chile |
9 |
| 3 |  Paraguay |
61 |
| 4 |  Argentina |
1 |
| 5 |  Brazil |
7 |
| 6 |  Ecuador |
31 |
| 7 |  Venezuela |
69 |
| 8 |  Bolivia |
67 |
| 9 |  Peru |
50 |
| 10 | Uruguay |
20 |
Schedule
There were a total of 18 matchdays: four in 2015, eight in 2016, and six in 2017.[8]
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The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.[9]
The fixtures for CONMEBOL qualification were decided based on the draw positions, as follows:
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Standings
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[10]
|
Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL table
Matches
Matchday 1
| Colombia | 2–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 44,000
Referee: Antonio Arias (Paraguay)
| Chile | 2–0 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (Ecuador)
| Argentina | 0–2 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Matchday 2
| Ecuador | 2–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Brazil | 3–1 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
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Matchday 3
| Ecuador | 2–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Chile | 1–1 | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 45,316
Referee: Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)
| Argentina | 1–1 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 53,000
Referee: Antonio Arias (Paraguay)
Matchday 4
| Colombia | 0–1 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 46,000
Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)
| Venezuela | 1–3 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Uruguay | 3–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Brazil | 3–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 5
| Ecuador | 2–2 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Peru | 2–2 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
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Matchday 6
| Colombia | 3–1 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
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Attendance: 38,400
Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)
| Paraguay | 2–2 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
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Matchday 7
| Bolivia | 0–3 Awarded[note 2] | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Colombia | 2–0 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 37,099
Referee: Daniel Fedorczuk (Uruguay)
| Ecuador | 0–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Matchday 8
| Chile | 3–0 Awarded[note 3] | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Ricardo Marques (Brazil)
Matchday 9
| Ecuador | 3–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Brazil | 5–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Peru | 2–2 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Matchday 10
| Bolivia | 2–2 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Colombia | 2–2 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 47,000
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
| Chile | 2–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 38,662
Referee: Roddy Zambrano (Ecuador)
Matchday 11
| Colombia | 0–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 45,916
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
| Paraguay | 1–4 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Venezuela | 5–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 12
| Ecuador | 3–0 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Chile | 3–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 46,011
Referee: Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)
Matchday 13
| Colombia | 1–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 39,000
Referee: Ricardo Marques (Brazil)
| Argentina | 1–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
| Venezuela | 2–2 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 14
| Chile | 3–1 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 34,136
Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)
Matchday 15
| Venezuela | 0–0 | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 38,479
Referee: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
| Chile | 0–3 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
Matchday 16
| Colombia | 1–1 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 46,500
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (Venezuela)
| Ecuador | 1–2 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Argentina | 1–1 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Roberto Tobar (Chile)
Matchday 17
| Venezuela | 0–0 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 32,100
Referee: Anderson Daronco (Brazil)
| Colombia | 1–2 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Attendance: 47,000
Referee: Ricardo Marques (Brazil)
Matchday 18
| Brazil | 3–0 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Ecuador | 1–3 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg.[3] The fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL was drawn against the first-placed team from OFC, with the CONMEBOL team hosting the second leg.[17]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand 
|
0–2 | Peru
|
0–0 | 0–2 |
Qualified teams
The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil |
Winners | 28 March 2017 | 20 (all) (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) |
| Uruguay |
Runners-up | 10 October 2017 | 12 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010, 2014) |
| Argentina |
Third place | 10 October 2017 | 16 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) |
| Colombia |
Fourth place | 10 October 2017 | 5 (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2014) |
| Peru |
OFC v CONMEBOL play-off winners | 15 November 2017 | 4 (1930, 1970, 1978, 1982) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 242 goals scored in 90 matches, for an average of 2.69 goals per match.
10 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Dani Alves
- Lucas Lima
- Marcelo
- Miranda
- Roberto Firmino
- Lucas Biglia
- Ramiro Funes Mori
- Gonzalo Higuaín
- Ezequiel Lavezzi
- Nicolás Otamendi
- Gilbert Álvarez
- Rudy Cardozo
- Alejandro Chumacero
- Yasmani Duk
- Marcelo Moreno
- Ronald Raldes
- Felipe Gutiérrez
- Abel Aguilar
- Juan Cuadrado
- Teófilo Gutiérrez
- Yerry Mina
- Sebastián Pérez
- Macnelly Torres
- Gabriel Achilier
- Michael Arroyo
- Frickson Erazo
- Ángel Mena
- Arturo Mina
- Jefferson Montero
- Cristian Ramírez
- Antonio Valencia
- Júnior Alonso
- Lucas Barrios
- Édgar Benítez
- Víctor Cáceres
- Óscar Cardozo
- Paulo da Silva
- Richard Ortiz
- Cristian Riveros
- Ángel Romero
- Óscar Romero
- Antonio Sanabria
- Bruno Valdez
- André Carrillo
- Paolo Hurtado
- Christian Ramos
- Raúl Ruidíaz
- Renato Tapia
- Sebastián Coates
- Abel Hernández
- Nicolás Lodeiro
- Álvaro Pereira
- Carlos Sánchez
- Federico Valverde
- Richard Blanco
- Yangel Herrera
- Juanpi
- Jacobo Kouffati
- Jhon Murillo
- Mario Rondón
- Salomón Rondón
- Christian Santos
1 own goal
- Marquinhos (against Colombia)
- Arturo Vidal (against Paraguay)
- David Ospina (against Peru)
- Édgar Benítez (against Peru)
- Diego Godín (against Bolivia)
- Gastón Silva (against Bolivia)
- Rolf Feltscher (against Argentina)
2 own goals
- Gustavo Gómez (against Bolivia and Uruguay)
Notes
- ^ The match between Argentina and Brazil was originally scheduled to be played on 12 November 2015, 21:00 UTC−3, but was postponed to the following day due to bad weather.[11]
- ^ FIFA awarded Peru a 3–0 win as a result of Bolivia fielding the ineligible player Nelson Cabrera, after Bolivia had defeated Peru 2–0. Nelson Cabrera had previously represented Paraguay and did not meet eligibility rules.[12]
- ^ FIFA awarded Chile a 3–0 win as a result of Bolivia fielding the ineligible player Nelson Cabrera, after the match had finished 0–0. Nelson Cabrera had previously represented Paraguay and did not meet eligibility rules.[12]
- ^ a b c d Chile were sanctioned by FIFA to play one home match (against Bolivia on 6 September 2016) away from Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago due to homophobic chants by the team's fans, with a possible ban on a second match subject to a probation period of two years.[13] Since Chile committed another infringement during this period, a second match ban on playing at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos will be served (against Venezuela on 28 March 2017).[14] Chile was sanctioned with a ban on playing at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos for two further matches (against Paraguay on 31 August 2017 and against Ecuador on 5 October 2017) after similar incidents.[15]
- ^ The match between Peru and Bolivia was originally scheduled to be played at the Estadio Nacional, but was moved to the Estadio Monumental "U" due to poor conditions of the pitch at the Estadio Nacional.[16]
References
- ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup™ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
- ^ "A unanimous decision: A draw will determine the classifications for the World Cup and CONMEBOL Tournaments". CONMEBOL.com. 23 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Preliminary Draw procedures". FIFA.com. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ "Draw Procedures – South American Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2015.
- ^ "Road to Russia with new milestone". FIFA.com. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015.
- ^ "Fifa World Cup 2018 qualifying group draw: As it happened". International Business Times. 25 July 2015.
- ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – October 2015 (CONMEBOL)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 1 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "South American teams know the roadmap to reach Russia-2018". CONMEBOL.com. 25 July 2015.
- ^ "FIFA Calendar". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
- ^ "Argentina v Brazil postponed due to wet weather". goal.com. 12 November 2015.
- ^ a b ""Chile v Bolivia"". FIFA. Archived from the original on 4 July 2016.
- ^ "FIFA sanctions several football associations after discriminatory chants by fans". FIFA.com. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016.
- ^ "Several football associations sanctioned after discriminatory and unsporting conduct of fans". FIFA.com. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016.
- ^ "Several member associations sanctioned for incidents during FIFA World Cup qualifiers and friendlies". FIFA.com. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Perú vs Bolivia se jugará en el Estadio Monumental" (in Spanish). Peruvian Football Federation. 4 August 2017.
- ^ "The Preliminary Draw results in full". FIFA.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015.
External links
- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – South America, FIFA.com
- FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, CONMEBOL.com
Categories:
- 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
- 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
- FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
- 2015 in South American football
- 2016 in South American football
- 2017 in South American football
- Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Colombia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- Peru at the 2018 FIFA World Cup