CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying set for long break: when does matchday seven take place?

Matchday six in CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualification was controversial, to say the least. There were wins for Colombia, Uruguay and Ecuador over Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile respectively, but the real drama came at the Maracanã, where Brazil hosted arch-rivals Argentina.

Messi attempts to defuse crowd trouble in Rio

Kick-off was delayed by crowd trouble in Rio de Janeiro, with local police charing at away fans after fighting broke out between rival supporters in a section of the stadium. After the teams had taken to the field, Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi and his teammates went over in an attempt to defuse the situation, with the Inter Miami star later revealing players were worried family members had been caught up in the trouble.

After Argentina had returned to the dressing room and subsequently reappeared, the match eventually got underway with a delay of around 30 minutes. And yet more misery was heaped on Brazil, who lost their first ever qualifier on home soil and have now been beaten in each of their last three matches.

Another win for Argentina, another defeat for Brazil

Benfica defender Nicolás Otamendi scored the only goal from a corner to make it five wins out of six for the visitors, who were nevertheless left stunned by Lionel Scaloni’s comments after the game suggesting he may step down as head coach. The reigning world champions are top of the group on 15 points, two ahead of Uruguay and three better off that Colombia.

Brazil, meanwhile, the only country to have played in every single World Cup, have amassed only seven points from six games and are now languishing in sixth spot, although that would still be good enough for them to qualify for the next tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

When does World Cup 2026 qualifying resume in South America?

There is still a very long way to go and plenty of time for the Brazilians to fix things. The CONMEBOL World Cup qualification group consists of 18 fixtures, which means they still have 12 matches left in which to turn their form around.

However, they have what will feel like an eternity to stew over their three successive losses and their crushing defeat to their bitter rivals, with qualifying for the 2026 World Cup not resuming until September 2024, a full 10 months away.

No specific dates have yet been set for matchdays seven and eight, which will see Brazil host Ecuador and travel to Paraguay, with Argentina playing at home to Chile before facing Ecuador on the road.