section_path: Confederation qualification/CONMEBOL
section_name: CONMEBOL
paragraph_text: CONMEBOL
  
  On 22 August 2022, CONMEBOL petitioned FIFA to keep the qualification format which had been used since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, where all CONMEBOL members play home-and-away round-robin matches against each other. This was approved, with the first games of the qualifiers played in September 2023.
  
  Before the qualification competition began, Ecuador were penalized 3 points for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.
  
  On 22 August 2022, CONMEBOL petitioned FIFA to keep the qualification format which had been used since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, where all CONMEBOL members play home-and-away round-robin matches against each other. This was approved, with the first games of the qualifiers played in September 2023.
  
  Before the qualification competition began, Ecuador were penalized 3 points for falsifying birth documents for Byron Castillo in the previous World Cup qualification cycle.