In terms of results (not need necessarily quality of play), I give the following grades for this match day: -US grading system because I just got citizenship recently-

Argentina: B - Expected win

Brasil: D (possibly F) - Tie at home against Venezuela is essentially a loss for Brasil

Colombia: C - Very winnable match, should’ve put the match away multiple times.

Uruguay: B - stole a point in a match where they struggled. Getting a point in Colombia is never a bad result. Despite the struggle, it maybe was the justified result given the handball goal for Colombia.

Chile: A - Needed 3 points in a home match against a beatable opponent and got it done. Also, it’s a clásico.

Venezuela: A - Historic result in Brasil

Ecuador: A - Despite subpar quality, 3 points at altitude is always an excellent result.

Paraguay: C - Although a loss was expected, they never seemed to threaten. Must win at home vs Bolivia on Tuesday.

Peru: D - Lost a clásico. Looking like their November window will be extremely important (at Bolivia, vs Venezuela).

Bolivia: F - Lost at home against an unusually poor Ecuadorian side. Failed to take advantage of the uncharacteristic performance by Ecuador. Didn’t even salvage a point.

Argentina’s last home loss was 7* years ago yesterday

Argentina’s last home loss was 7* years ago yesterday

I literally don’t want the matches to end. Usually I would be screaming for the ref to end the match to secure the 3 points. Shows how good this squad is. I love this team so much.

Since the World Cup expanded to 32 teams (in 1998), CONMEBOL qualifiers have consisted of 18 match days in a round robin home and away format. Previously, the top 4 finishers qualified directly and the 5th place qualified to the playoff/repechaje. With the 2026 expansion, CONMEBOL slots increased to 6 automatic and 1 playoff.

Here is some data regarding the 7th place finisher in every qualifier since 1998 (except for 1998 and 2014 as Brasil was auto-qualified as previous winner and host and only 16 matches were played):

The average 7th place finish earned 21.2 points. The most points for a 7th place finish occurred in the 2018 edition by Paraguay with 24 points (GD of -3). The least amount of points for a 7th place finish occurred in the 2002 edition by Bolivia with 18 points (GD of -12).

Additionally, you can look at how many points it would’ve taken to tie the 8th place finisher - as you could advance with a goal difference above the 8th place finisher but with the same amount of points.

The average 8th place finish earned 18.4 points. The most points for an 8th place finish occurred in the 2010 edition with 22 points (GD of -6). The least points for an 8th place finish occurred in the 2002 and 2022 editions with 16 points (GD of -11 and -14 respectively in those years).

25 points would seem to be the guarantee for at least a playoff spot, but as low as 16 could be enough in a cycle where the bottom teams struggle.

One additional note for anyone interested: In the 1998 and 2014 qualifiers (16 matches without Brasil), the 6th and 7th place finishers averaged 1.28 and 1.13 points per match. Compared to 1.18 and 1.02 points per match from 7th and 8th place finishers respectively in “normal” 18 match qualifying cycles.

In terms of results (not quality of play), I give the following grades for this match day: -US grading system because I just got citizenship recently-

Argentina: B - Expected win

Brasil: D (possibly F) - Tie at home against Venezuela is essentially a loss for Brasil

Colombia: C - Very winnable match, should’ve put the match away multiple times.

Uruguay: B - stole a point in a match where they struggled. Getting a point in Colombia is never a bad result. Maybe was the justified result given the handball goal for Colombia.

Chile: A - Needed 3 points in a home match against a beatable opponent. Also, it’s a clásico.

Venezuela: A - Historic result in Brasil

Ecuador: A - Despite subpar quality, 3 points at altitude is always an excellent result.

Paraguay: C - Although a loss was expected, they never seemed to threaten. Must win at home vs Bolivia on Tuesday.

Peru: D - Lost a clásico. Looking like their November window will be extremely important (at Bolivia, vs Venezuela).

Bolivia: F - Lost at home against an unusually poor Ecuadorian side. Didn’t even salvage a point.

Enormous result for Venezuela

Gotta be a handball and disallowed right??

I know it wasn’t on the one who scored, but that handball affected the play so much.

Was inevitable when Colombia missed 3+ clear chances.

Also justice because the 2nd handball goal by Colombia was disgraceful.

Handball goal was bullshit but Colombia is clearly better.