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The start of the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada was not the best for Bolivia. Out of 12 points, the highland team has not yet earned any and is currently in last place in the standings. This scenario led the Bolivian Football Federation to make the decision to end the process of Argentine strategist Gustavo Costas (the coach arrived in August 2022). Note that all this happened in the midst of the match against the Peruvian National Team on November 16th in La Paz.
After evaluating goals and profiles, the Bolivian Football Federation hired Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago to take over the position left by the former coach of Alianza Lima, with the main challenge of placing the 'Green Eagles' in expectant positions during the next two rounds of the tournament, in which they will face the Peruvian National Team (second to last in the table with one point) and will then visit Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay.
It is worth noting that in the first round of qualifiers, Bolivia lost 5-1 to Brazil. After that, they faced Argentina, a team that defeated them 3-0. For the third match, the Bolivians had high hopes as they hosted Ecuador in La Paz, but the result was also adverse (2-1). In the last round, they lost to Paraguay (1-0) in Asuncion.
It is worth mentioning that Antonio Carlos Zago comes with extensive experience: he spent over seven years in Brazilian football, leading teams such as Palmeiras, Internacional, Fortaleza, Curitiba, among others (he coached Bolívar in the highland country). “I think it is possible; we have only played four matches, we haven't earned any points, but the Qualifiers have only started two months ago, so I believe we can still fight,” said the new coach of the Bolivian team in a press conference.
Peru's upcoming challenges in the 2026 Qualifiers
After their last 0-2 defeat against Argentina, the Peruvian National Team will play again next month when they visit Bolivia for the fifth round of the 2026 Qualifiers. The match is scheduled for Thursday, November 16th, starting at 3:00 p.m. (Peruvian time, and one hour later in Bolivian territory), at the Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz, and will be broadcast by América TV, ATV, and Movistar Deportes.
Following that, in the last double round of 2023 – there will be no more matches until September 2024, after the Copa América of that year – the 'Blanquirroja' will host Venezuela in the sixth round. This match is scheduled for Tuesday, November 21st, starting at 9:00 p.m. (Peruvian time, and one hour later in Venezuelan territory), at the Estadio Nacional, and will also be broadcast in our country by the aforementioned channels.
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