Peruvian national team: When do the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup begin?

We are on the doorstep of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and while the qualified teams eagerly await their debut at the biggest football event, the teams that did not secure their ticket are planning for the 2026 World Cup in United States, Mexico, and Canada. Peru is one of the countries in that situation and one of the most important aspects is to know when the qualifiers start and what the respective schedule will be.

Antonio García Pye, manager of national teams at the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF), stated that they still don't have information about the topic, but he doubts that the qualifiers will start in the coming months: "We hope they confirm it as soon as possible. I think FIFA will wait for the World Cup to end to define it. I imagine there will be a draw in December or early next year, so I doubt it will start in March. We have to wait because we are always surprised," he said to Movistar Deportes.

The format of the upcoming World Cup will be different from the usual. FIFA announced that it will be played with 48 teams and Conmebol will increase its quotas from 4.5 to 6 direct spots and a playoff spot. Because of this, keeping the "everyone against everyone" format could lose its excitement since there would be teams that secure their place well in advance. In order to make the tournament more competitive, the possibility of splitting the 10 teams into two groups is being considered, which would imply a completely different schedule than in previous years.