:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/E7NCZV2LEBTF7EJK5HUSNV3JYM.jpg "South America opens qualifying in September, same program 1")
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup will begin in September this year and resume the same schedule as the previous process, with the classic between new world champions Argentina and Brazil in november. .
The Colombian football federation unveiled the schedule for the qualifiers on Wednesday after a meeting of the 10 federations of the South American bloc during the FIFA Congress in Rwanda. World football’s governing body must then give its approval to the scheme, a decision which is considered a formality.
The South American teams will play six matches in 2023. The first date, scheduled for September 23, would include the following duels: Uruguay-Chile, Colombia-Venezuela, Brazil-Bolivia, Paraguay-Peru and Argentina-Ecuador.
South America has maintained the all-against-all qualifying format that has been in place since the World Cup process in France in 1998. These qualifications will span three years and culminate in September 2025.
The most important change is the number of places at stake for a World Cup which increases from 32 to 48 participants, the largest in history. Six South American teams will qualify directly and another will play in the tournament playoffs, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Brazil will receive Argentina after the scandal caused by the suspension of the clash in Sao Paulo in September 2021.
Barely five minutes into that game, officials from Brazil’s health agencies entered the Arena Corinthians pitch to remove four Argentine players from English Premier League clubs, accused of failing to follow protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The game was never restarted, but the result did not affect the allocation of places for Qatar 2022, with Brazil and Argentina qualifying unbeaten and with a wide margin over the others. FIFA has financially sanctioned the two federations and suspended Argentinians Emiliano Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero and Emiliano Buendía for two matches.