Beneficiary of the expansion! After losing 10 games in the World Cup preliminaries, the South American team is still expected to qualify for the World Cup

On November 19, with the conclusion of the CONCACAF World Cup preliminaries, three more teams joined the ranks of direct qualifying for the World Cup. They are Panama, Curacao and Haiti. So far, 42 teams have obtained direct qualifications for the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup, and the remaining 6 places will be determined through the play-offs in March next year. Among them, the European play-offs have 16 teams competing for 4 places, while the cross-continental play-offs have 6 teams competing for 2 places.

In the cross-continental play-offs, the six participating teams are Iraq, Democratic Congo, Bolivia, Jamaica, Suriname and New Caledonia. According to FIFA's competition rules, the two teams with the highest international rankings directly advance to the play-off finals, so Iraq (FIFA No. 56) and Democratic Congo (FIFA No. 60) became the first teams to enter the finals. Bolivia, Jamaica, Suriname and New Caledonia will compete in the group semi-finals.

Among these four teams, Bolivia from South America has the highest ranking in the world, ranking 76th in the world. However, in the South American division where there are many experts, Bolivia lost 10 games. With a record of 6 wins, 2 draws and 10 losses, they finally ranked 7th in the South American region, beating Venezuela, Peru and Chile to enter the intercontinental play-offs.

Bolivia is best known to fans for its home stadium of Plateau. In this South American qualifier, 5 of their 6 winning games occurred at home. The only away victory was a 2-1 victory over Chile. However, this time in the intercontinental play-offs, Bolivia will leave its plateau home court. Although FIFA has not officially confirmed the venue of the play-offs, foreign media widely believe that Mexico will host the competition. Monterrey and Guadalajara are expected to host two games each, giving both cities the opportunity to make final preparations before the World Cup.

After leaving its plateau home court, whether Bolivia can defend its South American honor has become the biggest concern for fans. In the play-off semi-finals, Bolivia's three potential opponents are Jamaica (FIFA ranking 70), Suriname (FIFA ranking 121) and New Caledonia (FIFA ranking 148). If it can successfully reach the final, Bolivia will also face challenges from Iraq and Democratic Congo.

Although Bolivia's path to qualifying for the World Cup seems very difficult, they can still enjoy the hope of qualifying for the World Cup despite losing 10 games in the qualifying rounds. They are also considered by foreign tennis fans to be the biggest beneficiary of the expansion of the 2026 World Cup. In the South American continent where strong players are rampant, Bolivia finally ranked 7th and missed the opportunity to advance directly. After entering the intercontinental play-offs without the support of the plateau home court, can Bolivia become the seventh South American team to compete in the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico? Let us look forward to their performance in the intercontinental play-offs next March.