Bolivia World Cup 2026 squad: Oscar Villegas' latest selection ahead of the World Cup qualifying inter-confederation play-offs

The Bolivia World Cup 2026 squad have a unique incentive when it comes to the inter-confederation play-offs for the last few spots this summer: their most recent World Cup appearance was in 1994, the last time it was played in the United States.

If the Verde make the grade in March, their players will expect to make a different kind of impact at World Cup 2026 than compatriot Marco Etcheverry, who was sent off after touching the ball twice. He later became a pillar of the early years of Major League Soccer.

The winners of Path 2, Bolivia play Suriname before the winners face Iraq in the final – will come up against France, one of the World Cup favourites, in their second group stage game in the summer. Senegal and Norway complete Group I.

In all, there have been seven World Cups since that third appearance for Bolivia, which itself was the first since 1950. They didn't win a game in 1930, 1950 or 1994 and haven't made it out of the group stage.

They finished seventh in CONMEBOL qualifying, eight points behind sixth-placed qualifiers Paraguay and 18 behind table-topping world champions Argentina.

Head coach Oscar Villegas has named a squad that boasts primarily boasts domestic players. The last two Bolivian champions, Bolivar and Always Ready, are best represented.

Villegas has also named players from leagues in Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru and Brazil, as well as host nations Mexico and Canada, and South Korea, northern Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe. Only goalkeeper Carlos Lampe has more than 55 caps.

Squad

Bolivia World Cup 2026 squad: The March selection

• GK: Carlos Lampe (Bolivar)
• GK: Geronimo Govea (Montevideo Wanderers)
• GK: Guillermo Viscarra (Alianza Lima)
• DF: Marcelo Torrez (Santos)
• DF: Ian Rodriguez (Jorge Wilstermann)
• DF: Luis Haquin (Al-Tai)
• DF: Richet Gomez (Always Ready)
• DF: Lucas Macazaga (Leganes)
• DF: Roberto Fernandez (Akron Tolyatti)
• DF: Diego Medina (CSKA Sofia)
• DF: Yomar Rocha (Akron Tolyatti)
• DF: Efrain Morales (CF Montreal)
• DF: Diego Arroyo (Shakhtar Donetsk)
• DF: Leonardo Zabala (Cancun)
• DF: Dieguito Rodriguez (Always Ready)
• MF: Hector Cuellar (Always Ready)
• MF: Moises Villarroel (Blooming)
• MF: Jesus Maraude (Always Ready)
• MF: Robson Matheus (Bolivar)
• MF: Ervin Vaca (Bolivar)
• MF: Carlos Melgar (Bolivar)
• MF: Carlos Collazo (Always Ready)
• MF: Ramiro Vaca (Wydad Casablanca)
• MF: Gabriel Villamil (LDU Quito)
• MF: Miguel Terceros (Santos)
• FW: Victor Abrego (The Strongest)
• FW: Fernando Nava (Always Ready)
• FW: Guilmar Centella (Blooming)
• FW: Juan Godoy (Always Ready)
• FW: Nabil Nacif (Oriente Petrolero)
• FW: Enzo Monteiro (Chungbuk Cheongju)
• FW: Moises Paniagua (Wydad Casablanca)

Fixtures and results

Fixtures

• March 26, 2026: Bolivia v Suriname, Estadio BBVA, Guadaloupe, Mexico

Recent results

• September 9, 2025: Bolivia 1-0 Brazil, Estadio Municipa de El Alto, El Alto, Bolivia
• September 4: Colombia 3-0 Bolivia, Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez, Barranquilla, Colombia
• June 10: Bolivia 2-0 Chile, Estadio Municipa de El Alto, El Alto, Bolivia
• June 6: Venezuela 2-0 Bolivia, Estadio Monumental, Maturin, Venezuela
• March 25: Bolivia 0-0 Uruguay, Estadio Municipa de El Alto, El Alto, Bolivia
• March 20: Peru 3-1 Bolivia, Estadio Lima, Lima, Peru

Manager

Who is Bolivia's manager?

Oscar Villegas was an experienced pro by 1994 but never reached the senior international ranks for Bolivia. He played in his home nation for the entirety of his career and has been more notable as a coach than a player.

His first head coach role came at Cochabamba club Aurora in 2005. Since then, he's fulfilled various posts within the Bolivian international set-up and Bolivar, but it's his association with Always Ready that's endured.

The Cochabamba-born former San Jose and Bolivar striker has had responsibility for first team affairs and other teams at Always Ready since 2022 – itself the beginning of a third stint – before stepping up to take charge of the national team two years ago.

Bolivia's Star Player

Who is Bolivia's star player?

21-year-old Miguelito is an attacking midfielder with the chops to play in a variety of other midfield positions. He moved to Brazil as a child to join the junior ranks at Santos and is now playing first team football alongside Neymar.

The Santa Cruz-born youngster enjoyed an individually beneficial loan spell with America Mineiro in the second tier last year, scoring his first seven senior club goals, but it's in the international game that he's really making his name.

Miguelito has already played 30 times for his country and only Lionel Messi scored more than his seven goals in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying contest, a tally he shared with Bayern Munich and Colombia winger Luis Diaz.

Best XI