CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (South America)

[darbitmobilerecovery]

2015 and 2016 were Chile best years, winning the Copa America and Copa America Centenario trophies. Since then, Chile performance has continued to decline, and most recently, they have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, having only collected 10 points from 16 matches. The remaining two matches can be considered mere formalities, lacking any real motivation to win. Chile appears to be running out of its golden generation, with Vidal and Alexis Sanchez now too old to be relied upon.

Chile is too weak comparing to the other South American nations and even if they participated in any other group like CAF, AFC or other qualifiers, they wouldn't perform any better.
As you said, their golden days have passed and they failed to have good talents like the ones you mentioned.
Even in the past, the best they can did was being third in the Word Cup like half century ago and winning Copa America a decade ago. There is a lot to do to rebuild a national team, not only having a good coach.
Yesterday their female team faced Argentina. One goal difference isn't bad.

Man Chile has his golden generation in the years you mention, they won that American Cup both with luck in penalties against one long losing streak Argentina, after that Chile never again produce any good player and that golden generation start to retire and the replenish of the team never ever arrives so they comeback to their normal bad form.

[Pumared]

2015 and 2016 were Chile best years, winning the Copa America and Copa America Centenario trophies. Since then, Chile performance has continued to decline, and most recently, they have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, having only collected 10 points from 16 matches. The remaining two matches can be considered mere formalities, lacking any real motivation to win. Chile appears to be running out of its golden generation, with Vidal and Alexis Sanchez now too old to be relied upon.

Chile is too weak comparing to the other South American nations and even if they participated in any other group like CAF, AFC or other qualifiers, they wouldn't perform any better.
As you said, their golden days have passed and they failed to have good talents like the ones you mentioned.
Even in the past, the best they can did was being third in the Word Cup like half century ago and winning Copa America a decade ago. There is a lot to do to rebuild a national team, not only having a good coach.
Yesterday their female team faced Argentina. One goal difference isn't bad.

Man Chile has his golden generation in the years you mention, they won that American Cup both with luck in penalties against one long losing streak Argentina, after that Chile never again produce any good player and that golden generation start to retire and the replenish of the team never ever arrives so they comeback to their normal bad form.

I think Brazil's path would be the same if it weren't for bookmaker sponsorships that further inflated salaries and marketing contracts. And also fanaticism. I think it's more a matter of investing in the overall scenario to improve and develop new, good players.

[rdluffy]

Man Chile has his golden generation in the years you mention, they won that American Cup both with luck in penalties against one long losing streak Argentina, after that Chile never again produce any good player and that golden generation start to retire and the replenish of the team never ever arrives so they comeback to their normal bad form.

Remembering that Chile was champion of the Copa América twice in a row, in 2015 and 2016, and also came in 4th place in the 2019 edition
Everything indicated that the team was becoming a very good team that would continue to play well and position itself well in competitions for a long time
But it failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and now it is the third time in a row
To make matters worse, the team is currently in last place with two wins in 16 games and only nine goals scored 

To make thing worse, the average age of the Chile team is 28 years old 

Something has gone very wrong, and Chile needs to rebuild the entire team, start over, and focus on the 2028 Copa America and participating in the 2030 World Cup again

[Sithara007]

Man Chile has his golden generation in the years you mention, they won that American Cup both with luck in penalties against one long losing streak Argentina, after that Chile never again produce any good player and that golden generation start to retire and the replenish of the team never ever arrives so they comeback to their normal bad form.

Well.. two more matches are remaining with each team in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. But even if they win both of them, Chile can't qualify. The quality of football in that country has come down by a lot during the last two decades. Demographics and economy may have played their part. And it doesn't get any easier since they are in one of the toughest confederations. All that said, sad to see them getting missed out. I hope that they can rebuild their team and qualify for the 2030 edition.

[Pumared]

Man Chile has his golden generation in the years you mention, they won that American Cup both with luck in penalties against one long losing streak Argentina, after that Chile never again produce any good player and that golden generation start to retire and the replenish of the team never ever arrives so they comeback to their normal bad form.

Remembering that Chile was champion of the Copa América twice in a row, in 2015 and 2016, and also came in 4th place in the 2019 edition
Everything indicated that the team was becoming a very good team that would continue to play well and position itself well in competitions for a long time
But it failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, and now it is the third time in a row
To make matters worse, the team is currently in last place with two wins in 16 games and only nine goals scored 

To make thing worse, the average age of the Chile team is 28 years old 

Something has gone very wrong, and Chile needs to rebuild the entire team, start over, and focus on the 2028 Copa America and participating in the 2030 World Cup again

It's what I mentioned earlier: they need to renew themselves quickly and start investing in youth football. Perhaps they could follow Brazil's lead of bringing in talented foreigners, whether coaches or players, to gradually change the football culture and strategies. If they get a good coach, I believe they'll change a lot in three seasons, and they'll be able to compete on equal terms with their neighbors.

[Bobrox]

Well.. two more matches are remaining with each team in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. But even if they win both of them, Chile can't qualify. The quality of football in that country has come down by a lot during the last two decades. Demographics and economy may have played their part. And it doesn't get any easier since they are in one of the toughest confederations. All that said, sad to see them getting missed out. I hope that they can rebuild their team and qualify for the 2030 edition.

Absolutely Chile have been out from CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification after defeating by Bolivia at games week 16 and two matches later not important match indeed getting six points of two matches left. Three consecutives time Chile national team not qualify to FIFA World Cup from 2018,2022 and 2026. CONMEBOL zone actually have additional team slot after FIFA World Cup have 48 national team and CONMEBOL team directly 6 team qualify of 10 national team participants.
Sadly can't see Barcelona's former Arturo Vidal at FIFA World Cup 2026 and become his last appearance for Chile national team, two qualifying matches left Chile will face Brazil and Uruguay are teams have secure their position for playing at World Cup 2026.

[Pumared]

Well.. two more matches are remaining with each team in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. But even if they win both of them, Chile can't qualify. The quality of football in that country has come down by a lot during the last two decades. Demographics and economy may have played their part. And it doesn't get any easier since they are in one of the toughest confederations. All that said, sad to see them getting missed out. I hope that they can rebuild their team and qualify for the 2030 edition.

Absolutely Chile have been out from CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification after defeating by Bolivia at games week 16 and two matches later not important match indeed getting six points of two matches left. Three consecutives time Chile national team not qualify to FIFA World Cup from 2018,2022 and 2026. CONMEBOL zone actually have additional team slot after FIFA World Cup have 48 national team and CONMEBOL team directly 6 team qualify of 10 national team participants.
Sadly can't see Barcelona's former Arturo Vidal at FIFA World Cup 2026 and become his last appearance for Chile national team, two qualifying matches left Chile will face Brazil and Uruguay are teams have secure their position for playing at World Cup 2026.

It's sad that great players can't perform as well on teams and miss out on competitions like the World Cup and even the Copa América. They urgently need more visibility and to recruit new players from the youth academy to better advance! They've been in this cycle for years and haven't achieved anything significant with the national team.

[snipie]

It's sad that great players can't perform as well on teams and miss out on competitions like the World Cup and even the Copa América. They urgently need more visibility and to recruit new players from the youth academy to better advance! They've been in this cycle for years and haven't achieved anything significant with the national team.

Top teams should not rely on their famous skilled players because once they get old, there is no substitute to them and the ending will be chaotic just like what happened to Chile.
It is not as sad as that in my point of view to see Vidal or Sanchez or whatever old players failing to reach their last international competition because they did their best during their gold age and now things are totally different and it is not their fault. Chile coach, management and the whole system are responsible for this situation because they failed to get a couple of good young players. Otherwise how weaker nations managed to overcome them in the ranking?

[LUCKMCFLY]

I hope he's not relying solely on Neymar, given the ocean of good players. Neymar stopped being a household name a long time ago; he's more of a minor celebrity than a great soccer player. Currently, he's living in the past, while Messi and CR7 are active and performing at their peak. Relying on Neymar for anything is repeating mistakes.

He's right, however things with Brazil are very delicate now, people are asking for it, people need it, and in this respect I understand why Ancelotti said he should prepare very well and be ready so that I can call him up for the World Cup. I think that above all, to be at his best, he has to work a lot on his fitness with strength exercises for his lower legs, in some way to make his ankle and knees stronger, so that he feels more secure when playing and doesn't get injured easily.

[Slow death]

He's right, however things with Brazil are very delicate now, people are asking for it, people need it, and in this respect I understand why Ancelotti said he should prepare very well and be ready so that I can call him up for the World Cup. I think that above all, to be at his best, he has to work a lot on his fitness with strength exercises for his lower legs, in some way to make his ankle and knees stronger, so that he feels more secure when playing and doesn't get injured easily.

Unfortunately, nowadays, many players are more marketing-savvy than actual skills. Companies want to sponsor players who generate a lot of attention so their products are widely marketed. Neymar doesn't play well anymore, but he still has a lot of marketing going for him, and the Brazilian national team has sponsors who will want Neymar on the team to generate attention, even if he's not better than many other players.

Ancelotti knows this; he just needs to find a way to get Neymar playing, the Brazilian national team winning games, and the sponsors happy. That's the most important thing. Not putting Neymar in the World Cup, even if he's at his best, will be a financial loss. Unfortunately, that's modern football.

[CLS63]

Ancelotti needs time at Brazil. I'm afraid things won't start going great for them magically. The squad we have watched until he came isn't very good. He can build a better national squad with players available in the pool. Because I think there are many players who don't deserve to be there currently. And when it comes to Neymar topic I don't think there is much to do with him anymore. His career would have been bigger than this but he didn't work that hard for it. I don't expect him to show consistency now either.

[snipie]

Ancelotti needs time at Brazil. I'm afraid things won't start going great for them magically. The squad we have watched until he came isn't very good. He can build a better national squad with players available in the pool. Because I think there are many players who don't deserve to be there currently. And when it comes to Neymar topic I don't think there is much to do with him anymore. His career would have been bigger than this but he didn't work that hard for it. I don't expect him to show consistency now either.

There was some hopes for Neymar to return to Europe again, precisely French Ligue 1 via Olympics Marseille but it turns to be a rumour or misunderstanding because it is another Brazilian, Igor Paixao, who was selected by Marseille.
I don't know if Carlo Ancelotti will keep counting on Neymar in the future like it was the case before but I doubt because results count for Ancelotti this time and he already knows several players personally and will favor them. Neymar has to prove himself for his coach, teammates and fans, otherwise he will vanish.

[Sithara007]

There was some hopes for Neymar to return to Europe again, precisely French Ligue 1 via Olympics Marseille but it turns to be a rumour or misunderstanding because it is another Brazilian, Igor Paixao, who was selected by Marseille.
I don't know if Carlo Ancelotti will keep counting on Neymar in the future like it was the case before but I doubt because results count for Ancelotti this time and he already knows several players personally and will favor them. Neymar has to prove himself for his coach, teammates and fans, otherwise he will vanish.

I don't think that any of the top clubs are interested in Neymar anymore. He is both injury-prone and undisciplined. From what I have heard, he has joined some Brazilian club and is happy there. Al Hilal signed him for a big amount in 2023. But he just played 3 matches for them, and then got injured. And then the drama came. The club requested him to stay in Saudi Arabia for his recovery. But he rejected that, and moved to Brazil. In the end Saudis cancelled his contract and threw him to the thrash bin. 

[Ale88]

Today it seems that the players don't have that notion, they play very well for their clubs, but when it's their turn to play for Brazil, something is missing, the will is missing and the fans no longer identify with these players
There are few today who have that ability
That's why we criticize the national team so much

I'm not Brazilian but I totally get what you're saying, and I agree with that. It happens the same with my national team, I'm Italian: nowadays many players just see the national team as a weight, as soon as they feel a little pain choose to give up and leave; 20-30 years ago being called up for your national team was the highest reward. I still remember players like Baresi playing against the medical advise (Romario won the cup but probably still has nightmares about Baresi); Totti managed the impossible and participated (and won) the 2006 World Cup. I miss that Italian team just like I miss that Brazilian team, and many others. Today it's all about clubs and money, there is less attachment and less interest to represent your contro, and it's sad.

[snipie]

I think Brazil's path would be the same if it weren't for bookmaker sponsorships that further inflated salaries and marketing contracts. And also fanaticism. I think it's more a matter of investing in the overall scenario to improve and develop new, good players.

No Brazil is not Chile and there is nothing to compare them in terms of football.
Brazil have a rich football history, people are saying that Brazilian have football in their blood since they were born. They play it since the early ages and poorer area drove this path and made great players. That nation is like a mine of players that many of them vanish before being known due to several conditions. It is truly that the Brazilian team is not always on top, it depends from the quality of players they have at that time but every couple of years they got few names driving the team on top. Same goes with Argentina. For Chile, no it is different.

[Pumared]

I think Brazil's path would be the same if it weren't for bookmaker sponsorships that further inflated salaries and marketing contracts. And also fanaticism. I think it's more a matter of investing in the overall scenario to improve and develop new, good players.

No Brazil is not Chile and there is nothing to compare them in terms of football.
Brazil have a rich football history, people are saying that Brazilian have football in their blood since they were born. They play it since the early ages and poorer area drove this path and made great players. That nation is like a mine of players that many of them vanish before being known due to several conditions. It is truly that the Brazilian team is not always on top, it depends from the quality of players they have at that time but every couple of years they got few names driving the team on top. Same goes with Argentina. For Chile, no it is different.

I know that, they're not exactly the same countries. But what I want to say is that it's necessary to invest in young players. It's not necessary to turn everyone into a great player, but those who want to be players should be well encouraged and supported so they can develop well. This way, the Chilean national team will be great again in the future.

[rdluffy]

...

I'm not Brazilian but I totally get what you're saying, and I agree with that. It happens the same with my national team, I'm Italian: nowadays many players just see the national team as a weight, as soon as they feel a little pain choose to give up and leave; 20-30 years ago being called up for your national team was the highest reward. I still remember players like Baresi playing against the medical advise (Romario won the cup but probably still has nightmares about Baresi); Totti managed the impossible and participated (and won) the 2006 World Cup. I miss that Italian team just like I miss that Brazilian team, and many others. Today it's all about clubs and money, there is less attachment and less interest to represent your contro, and it's sad.

Brazil and Italy are quite similar teams, to tell the truth
In 1994, I watched my first World Cup, with Brazil vs. Italy in the final
Brazil won in 1994 and 2002. Italy won in 2006

Those were golden ages for both countries, but both have been very unstable since then
We Brazilians were extremely surprised that Italy did not participate in the World Cup

We probably have the same problems: poor management, players who are not as motivated as in the past, players who can only play well in clubs, etc.
The players did EVERYTHING to participate in the national team's games in the past

Brazil is only in third place in these World Cup qualifiers because the other teams also played poorly

[Ale88]

We Brazilians were extremely surprised that Italy did not participate in the World Cup

I guess that it happened because, from the outside, you expect certain results from certain national teams but if you know the team then it wouln't really be a surprise. Of course I don't expect someone in South America to watch many European qualification matches so I understand it could be a surprise.

We probably have the same problems: poor management, players who are not as motivated as in the past, players who can only play well in clubs, etc.
The players did EVERYTHING to participate in the national team's games in the past

Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like that Brazil, starting with the coaches (Dunga in particular), is going through a "Europeanization process", and by that I mean that back in the days Brazil was known for the offensive tactics, players with a lot of fantasy, dribbling, and especially the attacking players had a lot of freedom, they were so good that they didn't need any instructions. Now it's more about tactic, everyone has a clear role, you're supposed to do what you're told, forget about trying some different that would wow the public.

[Bobrox]

Brazil and Italy are quite similar teams, to tell the truth
In 1994, I watched my first World Cup, with Brazil vs. Italy in the final
Brazil won in 1994 and 2002. Italy won in 2006

Those were golden ages for both countries, but both have been very unstable since then
We Brazilians were extremely surprised that Italy did not participate in the World Cup

Brazil and Italy have same similar team when participating at FIFA World Cup, Brazil last victory at 2022 and one edition later Italy success becoming the winner. Now both team not performed well almost four edition and bad for Italy absent two moment in  a row for World Cup 2018 and World Cup 2022, just small difference Brazil consistent for participating at World Cup but never reach higher round exactly when becoming host.
World Cup 2026 Brazil have been qualified and Italy still fight at qualifier round after losing one of two matches, Italy still can't guarantee will qualify have to fight with Norway recently success secure every three points of two matches qualifying.

[Ale88]

World Cup 2026 Brazil have been qualified and Italy still fight at qualifier round after losing one of two matches, Italy still can't guarantee will qualify have to fight with Norway recently success secure every three points of two matches qualifying.

Let's be honest: in South America is almost impossible that teams like Brazil and Argentina fail the qualification, especially now that 6 out of 10 teams qualify directly and there 7th goes to the playoff. In Europe, let's take Italy's group for example, you lose one match and your path can be completely compromised since the beginning. Back in 2018 we missed the qualification because our group was won by Spain, that means that either Spain or Italy would qualify directly for the World Cup, now try to image a group in South America where only the winner would qualify directly...