Three South American teams have already played at the 2026 World Cup, but none has managed to begin with a victory.
South America’s World Cup nightmare is already taking shape... but there’s hope coming
After Sunday’s games, Conmebol’s teams have not had the World Cup start they would have wanted, with three sides already having made their debuts without claiming a win.
Last Friday, in the World Cup opener in the United States, Paraguay faced one of the hosts and suffered a historic 4-1 defeat against the Stars and Stripes.
On Saturday, in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup debut, Brazil failed to beat Morocco. The Seleção salvaged a 1-1 draw, becoming the second Conmebol team to appear at the tournament.
On Sunday, Ecuador made their entrance at the 2026 World Cup. Sebastián Beccacece’s side lost in the final minutes to Ivory Coast, confirming a poor start for the South American teams.
South America’s first win didn’t take long
At Qatar 2022, Ecuador were part of the opening match against the host nation and claimed the tournament’s first victory — and Conmebol’s first.
During the first round in Qatar, Uruguay drew 0-0 with South Korea and Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia in their opener, while Brazil beat Serbia in their first group game.
CONMEBOL has three more opportunities
The South American confederation has three more opportunities to get its first win at the 2026 World Cup. Uruguay will be first, facing Saudi Arabia on Monday in Group H.
Argentina play Algeria next Tuesday in Group J, while Colombia make their debut the following Wednesday against Uzbekistan in Group K.
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