- Palmeiras and Estudiantes de La Plata will decide the title on Saturday, November 28, at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
- Kick-off time, venue, the road to the Final, the only previous meeting, in 1968, what is at stake and what happens in the event of a draw: the answers to the most frequently asked questions ahead of 'Eternal Glory'.
Palmeiras and Estudiantes de La Plata meet again in a CONMEBOL Libertadores Final 58 years after the first one. The ten most frequently asked questions about the match in Montevideo, with their answers.
1. When and where is it being played?
On Saturday, November 28, at 5:00 PM Uruguay time (the same time in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay), at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, as a single match. The Final was confirmed on October 23, when Estudiantes completed the line-up, a day after Palmeiras' win over Fluminense.
2. Why the Centenario?
Because it is the venue with the most matches and the most title deciders in the history of the competition: 412 matches and 21 Finals with at least one game played at the stadium, from 1960 to 2021, when Palmeiras beat Flamengo 2-1 in the first single-match Final held there. Six clubs have celebrated CONMEBOL Libertadores titles at the Centenario: Estudiantes (1968 and 1970), Independiente (1973), Boca Juniors (1977), Nacional (1980 and 1988), Flamengo (1981) and Palmeiras (2021). Peñarol, the club with the most Finals played at the stadium, nine, decided their five titles on other grounds. It is regarded as the temple of the CONMEBOL Libertadores and was the stage for Estudiantes' nights of glory in Montevideo.
3. How did they get here?
Palmeiras finished second in their group, behind Cerro Porteño, and knocked out the same Paraguayan side in the Round of 16 (1-1 in São Paulo and 1-0 in Asunción). In the Quarter-finals they beat Liga de Quito 1-0 at home, lost 3-2 in Quito and went through 4-3 on penalties, with two saves from Carlos Miguel. In the Semi-finals they won 2-1 at the Maracanã and lost 1-0 at home to Fluminense, but converted all five of their spot-kicks in the shootout and the goalkeeper was the hero once again with his save from Nonato: the 5-3 result took them to another 'Eternal Glory' decider.
Estudiantes finished second in Group A, behind Flamengo. They eliminated Universidad Católica (1-1 and 3-0, with two goals from Guido Carrillo), Corinthians (1-1 and 1-0, both goals scored by Alexis Castro) and Flamengo in the Semi-finals: 0-0 in both legs and 3-2 on penalties, with three saves from Uruguayan Fernando Muslera and goals from José Sosa, Eros Mancuso and Tiago Palacios.
4. What is the head-to-head record?
A single previous meeting, and it was a Final: the 1968 decider, which needed three matches. The play-off was held at the Centenario and Estudiantes won 2-0, with goals from Felipe Ribaudo and Juan Ramón Verón, to lift their first CONMEBOL Libertadores.
5. What is at stake?
For Estudiantes, a fifth title: they would draw level with Peñarol in third place in the all-time roll of honor, behind Independiente (7) and Boca Juniors (6), and would become the first Argentine champions since River Plate in 2018. For Palmeiras, a fourth: they would match Flamengo as the Brazilian club with the most titles. The country count, currently 25-25, will also be settled. The champions will play the 2027 Recopa and, in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, the Derby of the Americas against Toluca on December 9 in Doha; if they win, the Challenger Cup against Mamelodi Sundowns on the 12th and the Final against Paris Saint-Germain on the 16th.
6. What is their record in Finals?
Estudiantes are playing their sixth Final: they won four (1968, 1969, 1970 and 2009) and lost one, in 1971 against Nacional, settled in a play-off in Lima. They return to a decider 17 years after the 2009 Final. Palmeiras arrive at their eighth: they won three (1999, 2020 and 2021) and lost four (1961, 1968, 2000 and 2025, the latter against Flamengo in Lima). It is their second consecutive Final, as in 1999-2000 and 2020-2021.
7. Who are the coaches?
Abel Ferreira won the 2020 and 2021 editions with Palmeiras, lost the 2025 Final and is chasing his third 'Eternal Glory'. Alexander Medina joined Estudiantes in February, after Eduardo Domínguez left for Atlético Mineiro, and this is his first Final in the competition: in ten previous participations, seven as a player and three as a coach, he had never gone beyond a Semi-final. In 2009, as a Nacional forward, he was knocked out by Estudiantes and scored against them at the same Centenario.
8. Who are the players to watch?
For Estudiantes, Fernando Muslera, 40, has played every minute of the campaign and saved three Flamengo penalties, from Jorginho, Paquetá and Bruno Henrique, to reach the first CONMEBOL Libertadores Final of his career, and in his home country, after almost two decades in Europe. Tiago Palacios, a 25-year-old winger, Argentine-born and a naturalized Uruguayan who made his debut in the competition with Montevideo City Torque in 2022, is the team's top scorer with three goals, alongside Guido Carrillo, and converted in the shootout at the Maracanã. Marcos Rojo, 36, returned in October this year to the club where he started his career: he was part of the 2009 title-winning squad under Alejandro Sabella, missed the 2023 Final with Boca Juniors and started as the left-sided center-back in Rio.
For Palmeiras, Carlos Miguel, who stands 2.04 meters tall and has been the first-choice goalkeeper since October 2025 following his return from Nottingham Forest, saved two penalties against Liga de Quito and Nonato's against Fluminense. Marlon Freitas, captain of the Botafogo side that won the 2024 title and at Palmeiras since January, scored in Quito and at the Maracanã and, according to Opta, is the player with the most line-breaking passes in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Jhon Arias, the Colombian who won the 2023 title with Fluminense and joined Palmeiras in February after his spell at Wolverhampton, has three goals in this edition, behind only 'Flaco' López, the team's top scorer with four.
9. What happens if it's a draw?
Thirty minutes of extra time and, if the scores are still level, penalties. It has already happened at the Centenario: the 2021 Final was decided in extra time, with Deyverson's goal in Palmeiras' 2-1 win over Flamengo. Both finalists got here on penalties and bring specialists: Carlos Miguel and Fernando Muslera.
10. Which ball will be used?
CUMBRE, PUMA's special edition for the Final. This version was designed solely for this match. On a white base, black and gold stripes run across the surface and form sweeping curves around the PUMA Cat, which appears in black alongside the tournament logo. The gold refers to the trophy and to Eternal Glory, the most coveted title in the continent's club football. The name CUMBRE ('summit' in Spanish) refers to the peak every club seeks to reach, and the Final is the last step on the way there.
