The South American section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, 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]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 October 2020 – 29 March 2022 |
| Teams | 10 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 89 |
| Goals scored | 223 (2.51 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,369,058 (15,383 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Marcelo Moreno(10 goals) |
The qualification process began on 8 October 2020 and ended on 29 March 2022. Uruguay's Luis Suárez scored the first goal of the round-robin. This was the third time Suárez had opened scoring in the group (after 2010 and 2014), as well as the fourth consecutive time a Uruguayan player had done so (Martín Cáceres scored the first goal of the 2018 process).[2]
Format
On 24 January 2019, the CONMEBOL Council decided to maintain the same qualification structure used for the previous six tournaments.[3] The ten teams play in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches.
The fixtures were determined by a draw which was held on 17 December 2019, 10:00 PYST (UTC−3), at the Bourbon Asunción Convention Hotel in Luque, Paraguay.[4][5][6][7][8]
Originally, Brazil and Argentina were both to be drawn into either position 4 or 5 in the draw, thus ensuring that no team has to play both of them on any double matchday.[9] However, the decision was later reversed on 16 November 2019 by the CONMEBOL Council, making the draw completely open.[10]
The CONMEBOL Council approved the use of the video assistant referee system for the qualifiers.[11]
Entrants
All 10 national teams from CONMEBOL entered qualification.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Peru advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
| Draw position | Team | September 2020 FIFA World Rankings[12] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Uruguay | 6 |
| 2 |  Colombia | 10 |
| 3 |  Peru | 22 |
| 4 |  Brazil | 3 |
| 5 |  Venezuela | 25 |
| 6 | Bolivia | 75 |
| 7 |  Paraguay | 40 |
| 8 |  Argentina | 9 |
| 9 |  Chile | 17 |
| 10 |  Ecuador | 64 |
Schedule
The qualifying matches are played on dates that fall within the FIFA International Match Calendar.[3][13] There are a total of 18 matchdays. Originally eight matchdays would be in 2020 and ten would be in 2021.[14][15]
On 12 March 2020, FIFA announced that matches on matchdays 1–2 due to take place in March 2020 were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the new dates to be confirmed.[16]
On 25 June 2020, FIFA announced that the inter-confederation play-offs, originally scheduled to be played in March 2022, were moved to June 2022.[17]
On 10 July 2020, FIFA announced that the CONMEBOL qualifiers in September 2020 were postponed, with the qualifiers starting in October 2020. CONMEBOL also requested FIFA to include a replacement international window in January 2022 in order to complete the qualifiers in March 2022.[18] The proposal was approved by FIFA on 18 August 2020.[19] On 6 March 2021, FIFA announced that the March 2021 matches (matchdays 5 and 6) were postponed due to travel and quarantine restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] These matches were rescheduled to be played in September and October 2021 after FIFA accepted the CONMEBOL's request to allow triple matchdays in both September and October international windows.[21][22][23] Matchday 5 was played between matchdays 11 and 12, while matchday 6 was played between matchdays 9 and 10.[24][25][26]
| Matchday | Date(s) | Matches | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revised | Previous date | Original | ||
| Matchday 1 | 8–9 October 2020 | — | 26 March 2020 | 1 v 9, 2 v 5, 4 v 6, 7 v 3, 8 v 10 |
| Matchday 2 | 13 October 2020 | 31 March 2020 | 3 v 4, 5 v 7, 6 v 8, 9 v 2, 10 v 1 | |
| Matchday 3 | 12–13 November 2020 | 3 September 2020 | 2 v 1, 4 v 5, 6 v 10, 8 v 7, 9 v 3 | |
| Matchday 4 | 17 November 2020 | 8 September 2020 | 1 v 4, 3 v 8, 5 v 9, 7 v 6, 10 v 2 | |
| Matchday 7 | 3–4 June 2021 | 12 November 2020 | 1 v 7, 3 v 2, 4 v 10, 6 v 5, 8 v 9 | |
| Matchday 8 | 8 June 2021 | 17 November 2020 | 2 v 8, 5 v 1, 7 v 4, 9 v 6, 10 v 3 | |
| Matchday 9 | 2 September 2021 | 25 March 2021 | 3 v 1, 5 v 8, 6 v 2, 9 v 4, 10 v 7 | |
| Matchday 6 | 5 September 2021 | 30 March 2021 | 13 October 2020 | 1 v 6, 3 v 5, 4 v 8, 7 v 2, 10 v 9 |
| Matchday 10 | 9 September 2021 | 7 September 2021 | 30 March 2021 | 1 v 10, 2 v 9, 4 v 3, 7 v 5, 8 v 6 |
| Matchday 11 | 7 October 2021 | — | 3 June 2021 | 1 v 2, 3 v 9, 5 v 4, 7 v 8, 10 v 6 |
| Matchday 5 | 10 October 2021 | 25–26 March 2021 | 8 October 2020 | 2 v 4, 5 v 10, 6 v 3, 8 v 1, 9 v 7 |
| Matchday 12 | 14 October 2021 | 12 October 2021 | 8 June 2021 | 2 v 10, 4 v 1, 6 v 7, 8 v 3, 9 v 5 |
| Matchday 13 | 11 November 2021 | — | 2 September 2021 | 1 v 8, 3 v 6, 4 v 2, 7 v 9, 10 v 5 |
| Matchday 14 | 16 November 2021 | 7 September 2021 | 2 v 7, 5 v 3, 6 v 1, 8 v 4, 9 v 10 | |
| Matchday 15 | 27–28 January 2022 | 7 October 2021 | 2 v 3, 5 v 6, 7 v 1, 9 v 8, 10 v 4 | |
| Matchday 16 | 1 February 2022 | 12 October 2021 | 1 v 5, 3 v 10, 4 v 7, 6 v 9, 8 v 2 | |
| Matchday 17 | 24–25 March 2022 | 11 November 2021 | 1 v 3, 2 v 6, 4 v 9, 7 v 10, 8 v 5 | |
| Matchday 18 | 29 March 2022 | 16 November 2021 | 3 v 7, 5 v 2, 6 v 4, 9 v 1, 10 v 8 | |
| Replay from matchday 6 | 21 September 2022 | — | 4 v 8 | |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 17 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 5 | +35 | 45 | 2022 FIFA World Cup | — | Canc.[a] | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Argentina | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 8 | +19 | 39 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Uruguay | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 28 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Ecuador | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 19 | +8 | 26 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | — | 1–2 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Peru | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 22 | −3 | 24 | Inter-confederation play-offs | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | |
| 6 | Colombia | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 23 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 7 | Chile | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 19 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 8 | Paraguay | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 26 | −14 | 16 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 9 | Bolivia | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 23 | 42 | −19 | 15 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 10 | Venezuela | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 34 | −20 | 10 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | — |
Matches
Matchday 1
| Paraguay | 2–2 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Colombia | 3–0 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Brazil | 5–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 2
| Ecuador | 4–2 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Peru | 2–4 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Matchday 3
| Bolivia | 2–3 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Colombia | 0–3 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Chile | 2–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 4
Matchday 7
| Bolivia | 3–1 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Argentina | 1–1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Brazil | 2–0 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 8
| Colombia | 2–2 | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 9
Matchday 6
Matchday pushed back in revised schedule and then cancelled.
| Brazil | Cancelled[note 4] | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Uruguay | 4–2 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 10
| Colombia | 3–1 | Chile |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) | Meneses  56' |
| Argentina | 3–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Messi 14', 64', 88' | Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 11
| Venezuela | 1–3 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Ramírez 11' | Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
| Ecuador | 3–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 5
Matchday pushed back in revised schedule.
| Colombia | 0–0 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Argentina | 3–0 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 12
| Bolivia | 4–0 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Argentina | 1–0 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| La. Martínez 43' | Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
| Brazil | 4–1 | Uruguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) | Suárez 77' |
Matchday 13
Matchday 14
| Colombia | 0–0 | Paraguay |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 15
| Colombia | 0–1 | Peru |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) | Flores 85' |
Matchday 16
| Uruguay | 4–1 | Venezuela |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Matchday 17
| Colombia | 3–0 | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Matchday 18
| Bolivia | 0–4 | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
|
Replay from matchday 6
| Brazil | Cancelled[note 4] | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONMEBOL) |
Inter-confederation play-off
The inter-confederation play-off was determined by a draw held on 26 November 2021. The fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL was drawn against the AFC fourth round winners.[56] The play-off was played as a single match in Qatar on 13 June 2022.[57]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Australia  | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | Peru |
Qualified teams
The following four teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Winners | 11 November 2021 | 21 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) |
| Argentina | Runners-up | 16 November 2021 | 17 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) |
| Uruguay | Third place | 24 March 2022 | 13 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) |
| Ecuador | Fourth place | 24 March 2022 | 3 (2002, 2006, 2014) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 223 goals scored in 89 matches, for an average of 2.51 goals per match.
10 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Julián Álvarez- Ángel Correa
- Rodrigo De Paul
- Leandro Paredes
- Cristian Romero
Víctor Ábrego- Diego Bejarano
- Boris Céspedes
- Marc Enoumba
- Roberto Fernández
- Bruno Miranda
- Rodrigo Ramallo
- Fernando Saucedo
- Ramiro Vaca
- Moisés Villarroel
Arthur- Casemiro
- Bruno Guimarães
- Rodrygo
- Vinícius
Mauricio Isla- Jean Meneses
- Marcelino Núñez
Juan Cuadrado- Radamel Falcao
- Jefferson Lerma
- Roger Martínez
- Yerry Mina
- Duván Zapata
Robert Arboleda- Xavier Arreaga
- Beder Caicedo
- Jordy Caicedo
- Carlos Gruezo
- Piero Hincapié
Miguel Almirón- Gastón Giménez
- David Martínez
- Robert Morales
- Antonio Sanabria
Luis Advíncula- Yoshimar Yotún
Agustín Álvarez- Rodrigo Bentancur
- Maxi Gómez
- Darwin Núñez
- Gastón Pereiro
Eduard Bello- Luis Mago
- Josef Martínez
- Eric Ramírez
- Yeferson Soteldo
1 own goal
- José María Carrasco (against Brazil)
- Piero Hincapié (against Paraguay)