- More than fifty players set to take part in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores will represent their national teams during the March international fixtures.
- Bolivia will attempt to secure one of the final spots for the FIFA World Cup in the qualifying tournament.
The CONMEBOL Libertadores looms on the horizon. The Group Stage will kick off on April 7: the 32 teams involved already know their opponents and have mapped out their paths in their respective schedules. In pursuit of Eternal Glory, the continent eagerly awaits a competition that will ignite every corner of the footballing map.
Before the ball begins to roll again in the continent’s most coveted club tournament, the pulse of South American football beats to the rhythm of international duty. On the eve of the World Cup, March becomes a decisive prelude: a window in which Bolivia will chase its World Cup ticket, in which the coaches of already-qualified national teams will have one last opportunity to test alternatives, and in which new cycles will begin with the promise of a better future.
For each of the missions and objectives that national teams around the world will undertake, several key names—players who will feature in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores with their clubs—will prove essential: more than fifty of them are set to compete in the upcoming Group Stage. At this intersection of calendars, crests, and dreams, individual stories emerge—footballers destined to be decisive, to sustain hopes, and to shape outcomes. These are some of the players to watch.
Road to the World Cup: final tests
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Uruguay already know the opponents they will face in the World Cup Group Stage. All six national teams will use the March international window friendlies to consolidate ideas, reinforce certainties, and even give some players the opportunity to earn the final spots for the tournament.
Lionel Scaloni will have three CONMEBOL Libertadores players in his squad. One of them is a certainty: Leandro Paredes is one of the pillars of the cycle that transformed Argentina into World Cup champions and two-time Copa América winners. A symbol of Boca Juniors, which dreams of a seventh continental title, he remains one of the cornerstones of the Albiceleste midfield. Forward José Manuel López and right-back Agustín Giay, both standout performers for Brazil’s Palmeiras, will aim to secure a place in the final World Cup squad.
In Gustavo Alfaro’s solid Paraguay side, the presence of Gustavo Gómez has been crucial—the center-back who, since 2018, has played a decisive role at Palmeiras. A two-time CONMEBOL Libertadores champion, he is now a key figure in the project fueling a nation’s hope of returning to the World Cup after 16 years. Alongside Gómez will be Alan Benítez (Libertad), José Canale (Lanús), Maurício Magalhães Prado (Palmeiras), Ramón Sosa (Palmeiras), and Álex Arce (Independiente Rivadavia).
From Néstor Lorenzo’s Colombia, three players competing in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores will be part of the squad. Jorge Carrascal, Flamengo’s forward, is in excellent form after playing a key role in Mengão’s triumph over Palmeiras in the final in Lima. He will be joined by forwards Jhon Arias, who returned to South America after his spell in the Premier League to wear Palmeiras’ shirt, and Jáminton Campaz, one of Ángel Di María’s main attacking partners at Rosario Central.
Brazil will also feature representation from the reigning CONMEBOL Libertadores champions: Danilo and Léo Pereira, key figures in the Rubro-Negro defense, have joined Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. There will also be a first call-up to the Seleção for Kaiki, Cruzeiro’s left-back, who replaces the injured Alex Sandro (Flamengo) for the friendlies against France and Croatia. Hugo Souza, Corinthians’ goalkeeper, was also added in recent hours following Alisson Becker’s injury.
Marcelo Bielsa has selected a large group of players who currently compete for South American clubs. After his strong performances with Estudiantes, veteran Fernando Muslera has returned to La Celeste in pursuit of his fifth World Cup appearance. Giorgian de Arrascaeta, a key figure in Flamengo’s CONMEBOL Libertadores 2025 triumph, is one of the pillars of a team that will also include Guillermo Varela (Flamengo), Joaquín Piquerez (Palmeiras), Nicolás de la Cruz (Flamengo), Emiliano Martínez (Palmeiras), and Agustín Canobbio (Fluminense).
In Ecuador, Sebastián Beccacece has called up four players in a squad that lost Patrick Mercado (Independiente del Valle) to injury: the talented Gonzalo Plata (Flamengo), goalkeeper Gonzalo Valle (Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito), midfielder Jordi Alcívar, and right winger Janner Corozo (Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito) are part of the squad for the friendlies against Morocco and the Netherlands.
Beyond South American national teams, four additional players will feature in the March FIFA window representing World Cup-qualified sides. Ricardo Adé, a defensive pillar for Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito, will take part in Haiti’s friendlies against Tunisia and Iceland. Panamanians Luis Mejía (Nacional) and Jorge Gutiérrez (Deportivo La Guaira) will play a double-header against South Africa. Memphis Depay, a standout player for Corinthians, was called up by the Netherlands but suffered an injury that will rule out the all-time leading scorer in Oranje history, with 55 goals in 108 appearances.
Bolivia dreams of making history
La Verde last appeared in a FIFA World Cup at USA 1994—a campaign that ended in the group stage but allowed an entire nation to celebrate its first—and so far only—goal at the tournament: Erwin Sánchez scored against Spain in a 3–1 defeat that marked their farewell. Since then, they have never been this close. On March 26, Bolivia will face Suriname in the semifinals of Bracket B of the FIFA Qualifying Tournament; if they win, they will take on Iraq in the final on March 31 for a place at the World Cup.
Much of their hope rests on goalkeeper Carlos Lampe, who was a CONMEBOL Libertadores runner-up in 2018 with Boca Juniors and will take part in the 2026 edition with Bolívar. At the La Paz club, he has become a key figure since his return in 2023, when he began his third spell with La Academia. Since then, he has been central to Bolívar’s ambitions, delivering standout performances such as the victory over Flamengo in the 2024 Group Stage. With the national team, he has also written memorable chapters: as the starting goalkeeper, Bolivia defeated Brazil with Lampe between the posts to secure its place in the Qualifying Tournament.
Lampe shares both club and national team with midfielders Robson Matheus, Ervin Vaca, and Carlos Melgar, who have also been called up by head coach Óscar Villegas. The squad features a strong core from Always Ready, with six players—Héctor Cuellar, Richet Gómez, Dieguito Rodríguez, Jesús Maraude, Fernando Nava, and Juan Godoy—as well as midfielder Gabriel Villamil, who since 2025 has played for Liga de Quito in Ecuador as one of its key figures: last year he made 51 appearances and scored nine goals in a campaign that saw his team reach the CONMEBOL Libertadores semifinals.
New cycles, new hopes
Chile, Peru, and Venezuela will use the friendly window to begin building the foundations of their ambitions toward 2030. Nicolás Córdova has called up Vicente Pizarro (Rosario Central) and Benjamín Chandía (Coquimbo Unido) for the double-header. In Peru, Brazilian coach Mano Menezes has begun his tenure with the national team, naming goalkeepers Diego Enríquez (Sporting Cristal) and Diego Romero (Universitario); defenders César Inga (Universitario) and Miguel Araujo (Sporting Cristal); midfielders Jairo Concha (Universitario), Jesús Castillo (Universitario), Yoshimar Yotún (Sporting Cristal), Jesús Pretell (L.D.U. Quito), and André Carrillo (Corinthians); and forward Alex Valera (Universitario) in his first squad.
In Oswaldo Vizcarrondo’s Venezuela side, José Contreras stands out after an impressive start in the CONMEBOL Libertadores preliminary rounds with Barcelona Sporting Club of Ecuador, which eliminated Argentinos Juniors and Botafogo. Goalkeeper Cristopher Varela (Deportivo La Guaira), defender Diego Osío (Deportivo La Guaira), midfielder Carlos Faya (Deportivo La Guaira), and forward Jovanny Bolívar (UCV FC) complete the list.
