International Football
SOUTH AMERICA’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING DRAW IN NUMBERS!
The South American qualifiers for the World Cup 2022 get underway in March 2020, but to whet your appetite for the draw, we bring you a statistical summary of one of the most exciting and difficult qualifying tournaments in world football.
707
The number of South American qualifying fixtures played – excluding intercontinental play-offs – since the first one was contested in 14 February 1954: a 4-0 win for Paraguay over Chile en route to that year’s FIFA World Cup in Switzerland.
240
The number of goals netted by Brazil, who top the scoring charts in the region’s qualifiers. If that were not impressive enough, A Seleção reached that figure despite having played just 110 games, the fewest of any CONMEBOL side. Their scoring average stands at 2.18 goals per game.
154
The number of qualifying matches played by Paraguay and Uruguay, the two South American countries with the most fixtures, including intercontinental play-offs.
75
The number of wins Argentina have recorded during World Cup qualifying, the most of any of the region’s sides. Colombia, meanwhile, have registered the most draws – 46 – and Venezuela the most defeats – 90.
73
The number of World Cup qualifiers played by Ecuador’s Ivan Hurtado, who holds the CONMEBOL record. The former defender took part in five qualifying competitions between USA 1994 and South Africa 2010, participating in two World Cups: Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006.
31
The number of consecutive matches in which Brazil went unbeaten – a South American record. The sequence began in 1954 and lasted until 1993, when the Auriverde went down to Bolivia in La Paz.
24
The number of times Colombia have faced Paraguay –the most-played fixture in the history of these qualifiers.
21
The number of goals racked up by the all-time top-scorers in the qualifiers, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The Argentinian has played in 45 games, while the Uruguayan needed one less, 44. Argentinian Hernan Crespo (19) and Chilean Marcelo Salas (18) are next in the table.
9
The most goals scored in a South American qualifying game, so far happening on three occasions: in Chile’s 7-2 defeat of Colombia in 1965, Argentina’s 6-3 away win against Ecuador in 1960, and Peru’s triumph over Venezuela by the same score in 1965.
7
The number of consecutive editions of the South American qualifiers, including that beginning next March for Qatar 2022, in which a mini-league format across 18 matchdays will have been used. The current format was first introduced ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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