2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL) facts for kids

The 2018 CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualification was a big football tournament. It happened from October 2015 to October 2017. Its main goal was to decide which South American teams would get to play in the exciting 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ten teams from South America competed in this tough competition. A famous player, Edinson Cavani from Uruguay, was the top scorer with 10 goals!

How South American Teams Qualified for the World Cup

This tournament helped decide which teams from South America would go to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ten teams played against each other. They played many matches over two years.

The top four teams in the final standings automatically earned a spot in the World Cup. The team that finished fifth got another chance. They had to play in special matches called the inter-confederation play-offs. This meant they played against a team from a different part of the world to try and get into the World Cup. Peru was the team that went to these play-offs.

Final Standings Table

Here's how the teams finished in the qualification tournament:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	What Happened Next
1	Brazil	18	12	5	1	41	11	+30	41	Qualified for 2018 FIFA World Cup
2	Uruguay	18	9	4	5	32	20	+12	31
3	Argentina	18	7	7	4	19	16	+3	28
4	Colombia	18	7	6	5	21	19	+2	27
5	Peru	18	7	5	6	27	26	+1	26	Went to Inter-confederation play-offs
6	Chile	18	8	2	8	26	27	–1	26	Did not qualify
7	Paraguay	18	7	3	8	19	25	–6	24
8	Ecuador	18	6	2	10	26	29	–3	20
9	Bolivia	18	4	2	12	16	38	–22	14
10	Venezuela	18	2	6	10	19	35	–16	12

Top Goal Scorers

Many players scored goals during this qualification tournament. Here are the players who scored the most goals:

10 goals

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

See also

In Spanish: Clasificación de Conmebol para la Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2018 para niños