World Cup qualifying South America: Summary and the fundamentals

How many teams from South America will participate in the qualifying stage for World Cup 2022?

10 national teams in the South America section (CONMEBOL) will join the World Cup qualifying rounds. They are Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador who will start the qualification for the 2022 World Cup. 

The top four of these clubs will act as qualifiers for the official World Cup tournament, and the fifth-ranked team has a slot in the inter-confederation playoffs. 

CONMEBOL logo

How can I watch the World Cup qualifying in South America?

To not miss out on any match of South America teams, you can follow the 2022 World Cup qualifying on numerous online platforms and channels supported in different countries in the world. 

You can watch CONMEBOL qualifying matches on fubo Sports Network or beIN Sports channels. Another option is using online streaming services to keep yourself updated with every minute of the South American World Cup qualifying. Typically, you can choose between fuboTV or Fanatiz. 

In case you are out of your country and not available to reach any channel, a good VPN (virtual private network) will be very helpful. 

Which South American country has never qualified for a World Cup?

Venezuela has unfortunately never qualified for a World Cup since this tournament’s inception. The Venezuela national football team joined the World Cup qualifying stage in 1938 for the first time, and never reached the group phase. This football club is considered the weakest team in South America, and football is also not a favorite and strong sport in this Latin country, but baseball instead. 

Venezuela national football team

Summary about World Cup qualifying 

For those who are not sure about the World Cup qualifying principles’ knowledge, this section below will enlighten you with the most basic information about it. 

What is World Cup qualifying?

World Cup qualifying is the must-join process for entrants football teams to be qualified for the final tournament. World football is then divided into six main continental regions, which are AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe). 

The main purpose of the World Cup qualifying is to reduce the number of participants from more than 200 teams to just 32 best football clubs to officially take part in the competition. The World Cup qualification generally lasts three years, starting from the next year of the previous season and ending in the same year of the upcoming season. The specific date for the World Cup qualifying in each section will vary due to different time zones. 

How does World Cup qualifying work in CONMEBOL?

The number of slots for the final tournament in the World Cup will be determined by FIFA beforehand. The detailed format of the qualification stage is actually distinctive from six regions. In this article, we will mention how the World Cup qualifying works in the South America zone.

All 10 South American football teams will join the league under the round-robin format. They will play two-legged ties at home and away venues. Three points are awarded to the winning team in a match, one point if the match is tied, and zero points for the team that lost the game.

The top four teams will be qualified for the final tournament of the World Cup, and the fifth-ranked team will join the inter-confederation playoffs to gain the last slot for the competition.  

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(CONMEBOL)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_qualification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_nations_at_the_FIFA_World_Cup