IFFHS CONTINENTAL STATS - SOUTH AMERICA WORLD CUP 2026 QUALIFIERS
Picture : Lionel Messi became the 2nd player in history to score goals for a national team in 20 consecutive years (since 2006), after Cristiano Ronaldo (22 years in a row, 2004 to 2025).
Statistics on WC 2026 qualifiers in South America (match-day 17)
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay have qualified for World Cup 2026.
Argentina vs Venezuela 3-0
*Messi, with a brace in presumably last home qualifying match in his career, equaled Cristiano Ronaldo as the 2nd highest scorer in World Cup qualifying history (36 goals both). He surpassed Ali Daei (35). The record belongs to Guatemala’s Carlos Ruíz (39).
*These goals are the first Messi’s for Argentina in 2025. He became the 2nd player in history to score goals for a national team in 20 consecutive years (since 2006), after Cristiano Ronaldo (22 years in a row, 2004 to 2025).
The next in this ranking:
Robbie Keane, scoring for Republic of Ireland during 19 successive years (1998 to 2016),
Edin Džeko, scoring for Bosnia and Herzegovina during the same period (2007 to 2025).
*Messi equaled Ecuador’s Iván Hurtado as the player with most appearances (72) in the history of South American Qualifiers.
Uruguay vs Peru 3-0
*Uruguay will participate in World Cup for the fifth consecutive edition (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026), achieving their longest historical streak of appearances in the tournament.
Paraguay vs Ecuador 0-0
*Paraguay return to the World Cup after a 16-year absence.
*Paraguay failed to beat Ecuador in a home qualifier for the first time. They won all 9 previous such matches. Ecuador were the last opponent against which Paraguay maintained a 100% effectiveness rate playing at home in World Cup qualifying.
*Ecuador have only conceded 2 goals in their last 14 qualifying matches (one by Rodrygo for Brazil and one by Jhonder Cádiz for Venezuela).
*Ecuador have 4 consecutive 0-0 draws (against Chile, Brazil, Peru and Paraguay) became the first ever team in history of World Cup Qualifiers (in any confederation) with such a streak.
Three consecutive 0-0 draws were registered by Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Denmark, Spain, Guatemala, Mali, Portugal, DR Congo and Tunisia.
Colombia vs Bolivia 3-0
*Colombia, who return to the World Cup after their absence in Qatar (the 2022 edition), became the first team in the history of South American Qualifiers with 8 consecutive matches without conceding a single goal against the same opponent. Bolivia have still never scored in Colombia in the Qualifiers.
The previous record of this kind belonged to Brazil: 7 consecutive home matches against Venezuela without conceding (between 1969 and 2009).
*James Rodríguez has scored his 14th goal in World Cup qualifiers surpassing Radamel Falcao (13) to become Colombia’s all-time top scorer in the competition.
*James Rodríguez has scored with his right foot in South American Qualifiers for the first time in 8 years (when he did so against Peru in October 2017). 27 matches passed in between.
Brazil vs Chile 3-0
*Estêvão scored his first Brazil goal by a bicycle kick. It is the first Brazil’s goal scored such way after the famous Richarlison’s bicycle kick against Serbia in the 2022 World Cup.
*None of Chile's three shots against Brazil were on target. La Roja hasn't matched this record in an official competition since October 2012, when they faced Ecuador in the Qualifiers.