CONMEBOL 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (South America)

[slapper]

The big teams in the South American were all able to get their win yesterday. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay all dominated yesterday. The qualification for the World Cup is getting to an end and all point are now very important. The South American standing is looking more like it now, with the big teams stepping up. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are now the top 3.

Lionel Messi stepped up again for Argentina yesterday and he scored 2 good Goals for them, I almost thought it was going to end in a 1-0 win but 2 late goals came in and the win was secured in brilliant way.

Brazil also won 3-0 yesterday with the new chelsea youngster William Estevao getting his first ever Brazil goal, 2 second half goal come from Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes to secure them a 3-0 win on home soil.

Well I expected the standing to look like this when the qualification fixtures is coming to an end.

I would not refer to it as dominance all around. Sure, Argentina are bulletproof. They possess the best defensive record (9 conceded in 17) and Messi somehow achieving his best goals-per-game rate ever in qualifiers at 38 years old. But there are questions about Brazil and Colombia

Brazil has had a poor form on the away (2 wins out of . Yesterday was at the Maracana, comfy. We will see them carry that Ancelotti structure to La Paz or Barranquilla. The altitude match with Bolivia that follows is the actual challenge, particularly because Brazil are already qualified and may rotate. That may literally determine whether Venezuela or Bolivia creeps into 7th. It is humorous that without intending to, Brazil are now basically kingmakers

And Colombia... they are dangerous yet wasteful. They are the ones who shoot the most in the entire campaign but convert fewer into goals than Argentina or Uruguay. Without James running the show they would struggle. He is leading in assists, big chances and creativity. That dependence could bite them if he is not 100%

[yenerbatmaz]

Messi says it's unlikely he'll play in the 2026 World Cup, but I think he will.
He'll come on for the last half hour of matches if necessary, but he'll still play.
His current physical strength suggests he'll play.
I don't understand why Messi is making such a statement now. He would have been right to mention the 2030 World Cup. He's unlikely to play in that tournament, but if he stays injury-free, he could play in the 2026 World Cup.
Despite his age, Ronaldo will play if Portugal qualifies.

[rdluffy]

Messi says it's unlikely he'll play in the 2026 World Cup, but I think he will.
He'll come on for the last half hour of matches if necessary, but he'll still play.
His current physical strength suggests he'll play.
I don't understand why Messi is making such a statement now. He would have been right to mention the 2030 World Cup. He's unlikely to play in that tournament, but if he stays injury-free, he could play in the 2026 World Cup.
Despite his age, Ronaldo will play if Portugal qualifies.

I think his statement was pretty neutral and didn't say much
From what I understand, he just said that he might not play because of his age and that he'll see how he is in 2026

My bet is that he will play, because I'm sure everyone wants him to play: his teammates, the Argentine people, the coach, etc
He is no longer at his peak and won't be in 2026 because of his age, 39, but the way he has been playing in the United States, I think he will be able to play. He may not play full games, but he could play one half and help the team in other ways, as well as still taking free kicks and penalties very well

[DaNNy001]

Messi says it's unlikely he'll play in the 2026 World Cup, but I think he will.
He'll come on for the last half hour of matches if necessary, but he'll still play.
His current physical strength suggests he'll play.
I don't understand why Messi is making such a statement now. He would have been right to mention the 2030 World Cup. He's unlikely to play in that tournament, but if he stays injury-free, he could play in the 2026 World Cup.
Despite his age, Ronaldo will play if Portugal qualifies.

I think his statement was pretty neutral and didn't say much
From what I understand, he just said that he might not play because of his age and that he'll see how he is in 2026

My bet is that he will play, because I'm sure everyone wants him to play: his teammates, the Argentine people, the coach, etc
He is no longer at his peak and won't be in 2026 because of his age, 39, but the way he has been playing in the United States, I think he will be able to play. He may not play full games, but he could play one half and help the team in other ways, as well as still taking free kicks and penalties very well

So what's all the fuzz about him celebrating his last home game with his country if he still going to play for his country or was directly for any competition that will make Argentina to play at home in their stadium? I think his statement was quite clear although players tend to change their mind and come back to playing base on popular demand and request from team mates and coach too.

[snipie]

Messi says it's unlikely he'll play in the 2026 World Cup, but I think he will.
He'll come on for the last half hour of matches if necessary, but he'll still play.
His current physical strength suggests he'll play.
I don't understand why Messi is making such a statement now. He would have been right to mention the 2030 World Cup. He's unlikely to play in that tournament, but if he stays injury-free, he could play in the 2026 World Cup.
Despite his age, Ronaldo will play if Portugal qualifies.

It would be better to end your international career when you gets old and you achieve your dream.
if I was in his place, I would definitely quit because everyone will remember me as the one who finished his career with the World Cup not the one who lost it because of a mistake, penalty or a missed free kick or a header.
 

[emrecemsan]

If Messi said this was his last national match then it was... I don't think he'll decide to come back there anymore. If he hadn't won a World Cup already then I'd have given it a real chance.

He is 38 years old and maybe he'd retire from professional football completely in the near future too, who knows. Argentina still has a player pool full of talents. I don't think they'll just start playing terrible or so.

[Zaguru12]

If Messi said this was his last national match then it was... I don't think he'll decide to come back there anymore. If he hadn't won a World Cup already then I'd have given it a real chance.

He is 38 years old and maybe he'd retire from professional football completely in the near future too, who knows. Argentina still has a player pool full of talents. I don't think they'll just start playing terrible or so.

Lots of things actually happened in the game between Argentina and Venezuela that I think Messi is definitely hinting at international retirement because the way he marched out with his three sons and also how emotional he was after scoring I think he might be calling it off, not totally but since Argentina cannot doesn’t look to be having any home game again till after World Cup I think he might be just saying goodbye to the home stadium.

He is still yet to make a decision about the World Cup finals, but I am very optimistic that he will be going to this World Cup and he will be retiring right after it. Messi is seriously a pillar for the team and even his leadership on the pitch will be highly important to them so I am very sure he will be persuaded to actually play in the World Cup

[famososMuertos]

I've read that some people believe Messi has played his last game with the national team, but the truth is, he most likely just played his last game with Argentina on home soil.

That said, I believe Messi will play in next year's World Cup, no matter what, unless Antonella decides he's done with football. Just look what happened to Tom Brady.   

[shinratensei_]

I've read that some people believe Messi has played his last game with the national team, but the truth is, he most likely just played his last game with Argentina on home soil.

That said, I believe Messi will play in next year's World Cup, no matter what, unless Antonella decides he's done with football. Just look what happened to Tom Brady.   

Not many people put attention to the word of home game. The next game will be on Ecuador, then WC in US. However, after watching his interview after Venezuela's game. He seems not really sure to play in the next WC after 2026. It seems the upcoming WC is going to be his last WC. WC won't be the same again if he won't be there.

[Adiljutt156]

What is your opinion on today's France vs Ukraine match? The match has already finished 70' minutes, and so far France's score is 1 and Ukraine's score is 0, France scored a goal just 10 minutes after the start of the game, Ukraine is not doing very well, but France is playing very well offensively, of course France is a much stronger team than Ukraine, and for this reason Ukraine will not be able to be very strong against France naturally, France's performance in the match is good, I think maybe France can score more goals, nothing is sure, but the match is definitely a high possibility for France to win.

France national football team is dominant team in this match because they tried to do more goals in this match in which they became successful and Olise was a person who did first goal of the match and he did this goal at the start of match and applied pressure on the opponent team and after that we saw silence in respect of goals because,for 71 minutes no player could do goal but at 82 minutes ,we saw another goal in this match which was by Mbappé and he did this goal at the end .The shots of France national football team were more in this match which were 16 and 6 shots were on target. The possession percentage of that team was also very well which was 56 percent and opponent team possession was only 44 percent in this match.

[famososMuertos]

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I can assume Messi play in the 2026 World Cup. If anyone doubts me, we can have a side bet on it, something symbolic for fun. Antonela said; he'll play one more World Cup, and it's not about Messi, so, I repeat, it doesn't depend on Messi; it's a matter of footballer wives' issues.
In any case, remember some of the others World Cup past, 2018? He said, in the heat of the moment, 'I'm retiring' only to come back for one more Cup!!

On the other hand, I honestly think Messi was brilliant in the last World Cup... but, one more, yeah... brilliant... very possible, not many players have great performances in World Cups back to back.
I think this is moment to Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay...

[Velvet78]

I also thought it was the last national game in Messi's career, haha. I misread it on the news, it was really saying it could just be the final home game for him. 

Nice to hear about it though. I really want to watch him one last time in the same tournament with Ronaldo. After that it could really be the last official tournament for Messi...

Imagine Argentina winning the World Cup twice in a row which is really not an easy work to do.

[Pumared]

I also thought it was the last national game in Messi's career, haha. I misread it on the news, it was really saying it could just be the final home game for him. 

Nice to hear about it though. I really want to watch him one last time in the same tournament with Ronaldo. After that it could really be the last official tournament for Messi...

Imagine Argentina winning the World Cup twice in a row which is really not an easy work to do.

It was basically his last game for the Argentine national team on Argentine soil. He still plays for the national team and may not retire for a long time, but playing for the national team there in Argentina is very unlikely to happen again.

[rdluffy]

I've read that some people believe Messi has played his last game with the national team, but the truth is, he most likely just played his last game with Argentina on home soil.

That said, I believe Messi will play in next year's World Cup, no matter what, unless Antonella decides he's done with football. Just look what happened to Tom Brady.   

Exactly, I tried to explain it in my post, but they didn't understand it very well 
Interestingly, Messi won't be playing against Ecuador today because he received three yellow cards and is suspended
Messi's next game for Argentina will probably be a friendly match in preparation for the World Cup


These are today's games:


Very good odds for a Brazil win

[mcdouglasx]

These are today's games:

Today my faith is in the Vinotinto playing at home, they need to secure that playoff with honor. I think it's a milestone for the country. Despite everything, they're fighting in the toughest group in the world, so even if they don't qualify directly, it's already an achievement for the country, and this will undoubtedly promote sports among youth for the future, as they have done in major league baseball.

[famososMuertos]

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These are today's games:


Very good odds for a Brazil win

I think there are three matches worth betting on with good "@s." Whether they happen is another matter, but they're misleading. Someone could be mistaken with Brazil. It's not easy to win in Bolivia; most teams succumb there, and with Bolivia's enthusiasm for qualifying, I wouldn't bet on this match, and if I did, it wouldn't be on Brazil winning.

The other interesting one is Ecuador, with good "@s" for Ecuador. It's also unpredictable, but the "@s" are a statistic that doesn't reflect reality. The other Colombia-Venezuela match is the most complicated of all. Colombia seems the clear favorite, but Venezuela always plays well at home against Colombia. We'll see who ends up in seventh place. It's incredible that Chile still has a chance of going to the World Cup.

[rdluffy]

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These are today's games:


Very good odds for a Brazil win

I think there are three matches worth betting on with good "@s." Whether they happen is another matter, but they're misleading. Someone could be mistaken with Brazil. It's not easy to win in Bolivia; most teams succumb there, and with Bolivia's enthusiasm for qualifying, I wouldn't bet on this match, and if I did, it wouldn't be on Brazil winning.

The other interesting one is Ecuador, with good "@s" for Ecuador. It's also unpredictable, but the "@s" are a statistic that doesn't reflect reality. The other Colombia-Venezuela match is the most complicated of all. Colombia seems the clear favorite, but Venezuela always plays well at home against Colombia. We'll see who ends up in seventh place. It's incredible that Chile still has a chance of going to the World Cup.

Venezuela and Bolivia will play the match of their lives, as it is what separates them from the playoffs for the 2026 World Cup
All the others are already guaranteed or eliminated, but I believe they will still play great games, as is the case with Ecuador itself, which with the right combination of games could finish in second place, something that would be historic for the country

There are no odds below 2.0, hehehe

An interesting fact is that Brazil is now in second place with 28 points, and only 3 points separate them from the 6th place team, which is the last team to qualify directly

Only Argentina played at a level above all the others 

[Pumared]

I believe it will be Argentina or Draw, Brazil or Draw, Uruguay or Draw, and Peru or Draw. All of this in a combined bet. I believe everything will work out because these are games where most are testing new tactics, so I think it's hard to escape the favoritism.

[rdluffy]

After another defeat of Brazil, the CONMEBOL qualifiers came to an end
Bolivia will go to the playoffs, ending Venezuela's dream of going to its first World Cup


Source

A very important detail is that Brazil finished in 5th place, and under the old rules, the team would have had to compete in a playoff for a spot in the World Cup
The situation of the Brazilian team is lamentable

[Ale88]

I really can't believe it was the last national match for Messi. I thought he would compete in the World Cup as well after the qualifiers. But maybe he decided not to go for it one last time thinking he already won the World Cup once.

From now on I will be wondering what Argentina will do without him. He was still making difference in nearly all of their matches. They will learn to play effectively without him too. Just like Barcelona have done it so far.

If Messi played pretty much every single qualification match that means he is going to play at the World Cup as well, otherwise why would he be called in the first place? Cristiano Ronaldo for sure is going to be called, for Messi it's exactly the same situation: the whole country wants him to be at the next World Cup and Scaloni already said that the decision is up to Messi, for him there are no problems.